Inhuman
by Maggie Sheppard
Summary: Sheppard enters the event horizon after giving Elizabeth his usual boyish smile. She smiles back, not knowing that may be the last time she will see him smile. REPOSTED WITH SOME ADDITIONS AND GRAMMAR CORRECTIONS!
1. Part One

**Author's Notes:** The first topic I'd like to address is; rape is a serious event and should never be taken lightly. I deeply apologize if my story offends anyone, it was not my intention. I have never had any of the events in this story happen to myself or anyone I know, so I'm not too familiar with some of the subjects in my story. That's the great thing about Science Fictions though, anything could happen! I also do not wish for any of the events in my story to truly happen to any living creature, especially our beloved character John Sheppard. Loves him! Hugs him! Would never want anything bad to happen to him! I'll finish off these author's notes with; this is the first story I've ever posted, due to encouragement from a good friend of mine, so please be kind if you decide to review! Oh, and I'm praying that you don't think of me as some sick and twisted psycho after you get done reading this story. I'm actually a very kind and heart-warming person once you get to know me! LOL!

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I sadly do not have a Beta Reader, so all mistakes are my own! 

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Stargate Atlantis or any of it's characters!

**Inhuman Part One**  
Author: Maggie K. M.  
Characters: Aiden Ford, Carson Beckett, Elizabeth Weir, John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Zelenka  
Pairings: Sheppard/Weir  
Genres: General, Action & Adventure, Angst, Drama, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance  
Rating: M  
Warnings: Abuse, Language, Rape, Torture, Violence  
Summary: Sheppard enters the event horizon after giving Elizabeth his usual boyish smile. She smiles back, not knowing that may be the last time she will see him smile.

**Chapter One "The Last Smile"**

"Hey, Teyla, wait up!" Major Sheppard shouted, trying to catch up with her on the way to the gate room. They are about to embark on a mission to a planet that is sending off a distress signal. Dr. Rodney McKay can't get any one or any thing to answer from the mysterious planet even though they have an active stargate, nor can they get any life signs or visual conformation from the mount.

"Major, where have you been? Lt. Ford was just about to... how does Aiden put it... track you down," expressed Teyla with one eyebrow raised and a slight grin on her face. Sheppard smiled in response, amused at how quickly Teyla was picking up on earth phrases.

Ford leaned over and put his hand on Sheppard's shoulder as if he were going to whisper, "It's true, Sir. Rodney's never ending pretentious nagging about wanting to find out whom or what sent that distress signal is really starting to get on my nerves." Just then, at that very moment, Rodney came out of nowhere to join them.

"So, did I miss the briefing? No..., good let's go then. Time is of the essence people," exclaimed Rodney who was anxious to get to the planet. Ford cleared his throat while Sheppard and Teyla merely smiled in amusement.

They went down the main steps entering the gate room, where the team met up with Dr. Elizabeth Weir. "Major, I trust that I don't have to remind you and your team to be careful."

"Oh, come now Elizabeth! Where's the fun in that?" said Sheppard, giving his boyish smile. Elizabeth merely cocked her head slightly and smiled back.

The gate was activated and the team entered the event horizon, but just before John walked through the gate he turned to look at Elizabeth to give his usual crooked smile, and then he was gone. Elizabeth had no idea that may have been the last time she'd see John smile.

**Chapter Two "A Child Like Fear"**

Hours later, an unexpected off world gate activation occurred. The IDC code that was coming through was pretty scrambled, but Elizabeth recognized it right away as Major Sheppard's. She ordered the deactivation of the shield, but something in the pit of her stomach was telling her that something was very wrong. With her heart racing, she quickly signaled to one of the staff members to inform the medical team that they were needed in the gate room.

The mere seconds of waiting for John and his team to come through the gate felt like several minutes. Elizabeth felt extremely on edge. Then suddenly, John came charging out of the event horizon of the stargate franticly yelling, "Activate the shield...activate the shield...!" Elizabeth didn't hesitate, and ordered the reactivation of the shield followed by the deactivation of the gate.

John didn't stop, but kept running straight up the main steps and then crouched down on the floor. Pushing himself as far up against the wall as he could with his P90 aimed at the gate. He kept pulling the trigger but all that came out of his weapon was a clicking noise, signaling that it was out of ammunition.

Elizabeth ran to him and knelt down by his side, but hesitated to reach out to him after seeing the fear on his face. He looked like a scared little boy that just witnessed something so horrible it was unimaginable. He just kept ranting on about how the shield needed to be activated. She looked around and saw Dr. Carson Beckett running towards them. She raised her hand at him to caution him about his approach. She then slowly lowered her hand and placed it on the weapon John was holding, and then placed her other hand on his hand that was pulling the trigger continuously. She tried to pry the weapon from him his tight grasp, but he would not let go. She could easily notice and feel through his hand that he was trembling severely as if the temperature of the room was below freezing. Carson knelt beside her and started getting a sedative ready in a syringe.

Elizabeth's kind and passionate instincts kicked in, "John, can you hear me," but he didn't respond. "It's okay. You're safe now, and everything is going to be all right. No one is going to hurt you. I'm not going to hurt you." John still did not respond. It was like his mind was somewhere else. "John, listen to my voice. It's Elizabeth. Can you hear me? John?" He turned and looked at her. "Good, that's good John. It's okay… you're safe now." He released his grip on his weapon, so she took this as an opportunity and slowly took the weapon from him and passed it to one of Carson's assistants. She then placed one hand on John's shoulder and the other on his knee. He tried to pull away, but he couldn't push himself any further against the wall than he already had. She noticed it caused him to shake even more, so she tried to continue talking to him to calm him down. She wanted to hold him in a strong embracing hug to let him know that he was safe, but she was afraid that if she rushes toward that to quickly it would make things worse since he was clearly terrified of physical contact.

Carson started to inch toward him with a syringe that was filled with a sedative, and John started to shake even more. Elizabeth raised her hand to caution Carson to wait a little longer before he should attempt anything like that. She began looking John over a little more closely while she inched herself further at his side. His shaking remand the same. She started noticing his injuries more attentively, and was disturbed to see how badly he was beaten. He had cuts and abrasions all over his body, and then she noticed the worst. One of his hands was covered in blood and cupped over one of his sides under his rib cage. She could clearly tell that he had lost a great deal of blood, even his lips had a slight blue tint to them. She looked at Carson and he looked back at her, acknowledging that he was aware of the extent of the Major's injuries. They both exchanged a worried expression.

Carson inched in a little further and whispered to Elizabeth, "He needs immediate medical attention, try and calm him down enough to where I can get him sedated."

"I'm working on it, Carson. Just give me a little longer… I'm afraid rushing it will make things worse," she whispered calmly.

"I'm inclined to agree, lass. Do yer best to calm him… I won't get any closer until ye think he's ready," whispered Carson as he leaned back to his earlier position.

Elizabeth inched in even closer to John noticing that he was still trembling and that his eyes where now shut. "John, it's okay. Everything is going to be all right. You're safe now… can you open your eyes for me?" He slowly opened his eyes and she was now close enough to slide her hand to his forehead to gently stroke his disheveled hair back. He jerked away at first, but then allowed her to continue. She noticed his tremors were slowing down a little, so she started to inch the hand that was on his knee toward the severe wound on his side. She immediately felt him tense up. "It's okay. I just need to check your wounds. Just relax for me…" she cooed, and slowly continued inching her hand in the direction of his wound located in his midsection. He began to tremble severely and tense up so she stopped and went back to gently stroking his hair back and comforting him as best she could. "It's okay… we can check on it later, all right? Just relax, John. Everything is going to be fine. You're safe now." His tremors remained but decreased in severity. They all just kind of sat there for a moment while everyone else kept their distance.

**Chapter Three "Too Much Pain To Bear"**

Elizabeth started to wonder what could have possibly happened to make him so terrified of physical contact. She knows he's been trained to handle the strain of being interrogated through his military career, and it was definitely obvious that he had been beaten. She wanted to ask John where the rest of his team was, but was afraid of what he might say or how he might react. Thoughts and ideas crossed her mind that disturbed her. She then started to notice his tremors where increasing again, and signaled Carson to go ahead and get closer so he could sedate John before it got any worse. Luckily, Elizabeth had calmed him down enough that Carson's approach didn't phase John too much. Carson slowly and carefully gave him a shot in his leg. John stirred a little but was already pretty drowsy from all the strain he had endured. He was still trembling, but more relaxed. Only then was Carson able to start tending to his patients needs. In the meantime, Elizabeth remained where she was to continue giving what comfort she could. "It's okay, John. We just need to check you out to make sure you're okay."

Carson eased John's hand up off his wound, causing him to wince in pain. John incoherently grabbed Elizabeth's hand, and she squeezed back to assure him that it was going to be okay. Carson wished he didn't have to, but he had to put pressure on the wound and get a closer look. John was so exhausted he couldn't hold in the pain, "Oh, God! That hurts.…."

Elizabeth held him tighter feeling that his tremors were increasing in severity again, "Shhh… It's okay." He was starting to lose consciousness.

"Elizabeth, ye need to do yer best to keep him awake until we can get him to the infirmary," Carson told her with sincerity.

Elizabeth was starting to shake a bit too after hearing the worry and concern in Carson's voice, "John, it's okay, but I need you to stay awake. Just hang in there." She could tell by the look on Carson's face that John's condition was not good.

Elizabeth then overheard Carson mumble to himself, "My God, son! What have ye done to yerself this time?" She couldn't help but notice how frantic Carson was acting as he was trying to stop the obsessive bleeding. Carson then made eye contact with Elizabeth and they exchanged unsettling looks. He then grabbed a pair of scissors and made a larger opening in John's vest so he could get to his wound better. He started applying pressure once again, trying his hardest to get the bleeding to stop.

"Oh, God!...Please stop...It hurts...Elizabeth...," he cried out in pain again while his eyes started to roll back.

"Stay with me, John. I need you to fight it. I know you're tired, but I need you to fight it and stay awake. Come on now, try and keep your eyes focused on me. John, can you hear me?" He opened his almost closed eyes a little wider to a slant and tried very hard to keep his focus on her while he cried out again.

Carson leaned forward putting himself face to face with John, "John… listen to me, lad. I know ye're tired and I know ye're in a great deal of pain, but I need ye to hang in there," John's eyes were starting to close. "John, please! I'm yer friend and I'm not goin' to let ye down, but I need yer help."

John's eyes were slanted, his skin was pale, and his slightly blue lips were quivering. "I'mmmm soooo tireddd," John said shivering. Having those be the first casual words Elizabeth had herd John say since she'd last seen him made her eyes water. Yet she was so happy just to finally hear his voice, and she held him even tighter.

"It's okay, lad," Carson spoke softly with his Scottish accent really coming through. "I just need to get ye patched up a bit before we can get ye to the infirmary, so try and hang in there a bit longer for me, okay?" Carson added, looking into John's hazy eyes. John didn't speak, but gave a slight nod as he quivered out a long exhausting breath. Carson immediately grabbed a dark gray medical blanket from the stretcher next to them and handed it over to Elizabeth. "Try and keep him warm and comfortable, lass," Carson told her and she nodded in acknowledgement.

She was so nervous that she didn't realize how hard she was tucking the blanket around him until he suddenly winced out in pain. "Oh..., I'm so sorry, John! Are you all right?" He just shivered and tried to keep his eyes focused on Elizabeth's face. She continued talking to him to try and keep him occupied and calm, while also paying attention to Carson prepare some bandages. He then began working on his wounds again, and Elizabeth took it as a sign to put all her concentration on John's well being.

Elizabeth noticed John was starting to squirm from the pain. He couldn't help but yell out when Carson had to put more pressure on his wound while he was putting some temporary bandages on it, "Oh, God! Please, Elizabeth, it hurts. I'm begging you, please make him stop... It hurts! Ah...God...!" His eyes rolled back and his body went limp in her arms.

"No! John, No! Stay with me… Carson!" She frantically called out with her eyes still fixed on his lifeless form.

**Chapter Four "Extent Of Injuries, Unthinkable"**

Carson was quick to react, checking John's vitals. "He's not breathin', and I don't have a pulse," he said sternly while he signaled one of his medical assistants to come help. Elizabeth could actually feel herself holding her breath while she watched Carson spring into action. He grabbed John by the legs and quickly but carefully slid him down into a supine position while Elizabeth supported his head. Carson instructed her to lay him flat on the ground with his head tilted back. The medical assistant then stepped in, placing a breathing instrument over John's nose and mouth and manually squeezing the pump repetitively. Carson proceeded by pumping on John's chest while he was waiting for the portable defibrillator to charge up. He suddenly became well aware that several of John's ribs were broken. He cringed at the crackling he was feeling beneath his palms as he repeatedly continued to pound on John's chest.

Elizabeth felt helpless as she continued to stroke John's hair back off his forehead and using her other hand to support the back of his neck. She wished there was more she could do to help, but she was glad knowing that Carson was there. He is the most skilled physician she has ever known and has become a good friend to John. If anyone can help the Major, it would be him.

"All right, John. Hang in there," said Carson as he unzipped John's vest and ripped his shirt to reveal his severely bruised chest. He was both upset and angered at the extent of his injuries. He glanced up at Elizabeth, "My, God. I don't see how the Major could have stood on his own, let alone run up these steps in the condition he's in. I can't even fathom how so much damage...Elizabeth, it's unthinkable." Elizabeth was fighting back the tears that were trying to stream down her face, causing Carson to turn away to hide the watering in his own eyes. Just then, the portable defibrillator beeped to full charge. He grabbed the two defibrillator paddles and told everyone to stay clear. Elizabeth broke her physical contact with John and watched Carson place both paddles on his chest, giving his body a sudden jolt. He bent over further to check his vitals again but shook his head in disappointment, "Damit, John. Ye're not getting' out of this that easily. Come on, lad... help me out here." He placed the paddles on his chest again, "Clear...," and his body received another jolt. He checked his vitals once again and let out a long breath, "I've got a pulse…" he announced with a sigh, "His breathin' is unsteady, but he is breathin' and his heart rate is steady." Elizabeth placed her hand back on his forehead and held his hand. He felt so cold and his tremors had returned along with his tension. She noticed his eyes were slowly opening and that his breathing rate had increased.

"John, can you here me? It's okay," she felt his hand give a slight squeeze. "Carson," she called out placing her hand on the side of John's face. It caused his muscles to tense up even more but she felt that she needed to comfort him, so she started stroking his hair back away from his forehead.

Carson leaned forward, "Ye did great, lad. Ye're goin' to be all right. Just hang in there a bit longer, we're goin' to be gettin' ye into the infirmary. Ye gave me a real scare there for a minute, but ye're goin' to be okay." He opened one of John's eyes a little wider and tried to look into it with his penlight, but he jerked away. "It's okay, John. I'm not goin' to hurt ye. I'm yer friend, Beckett, remember?" Carson said as he gave John a friendly look to let him know that it was okay. Elizabeth started stroking John's hair above his forehead again to try and calm him, and it was working until Carson tried to look in his eyes again with the penlight. "That's okay, John. We can try that again later when ye're ready," he said with a friendly tone to try and calm him back down. He patted John on the shoulder and noticed the severity of his tremors. He shot Elizabeth a worried look. He has confidence that he'll be able to heel his friend's physical wounds, but his emotional wounds might be another problem. Especially since Doctor Kate Heightmeijer was killed, leaving no qualified psychiatrists on Atlantis. The closest they had to a psychiatrist would be himself and Elizabeth. Carson spoke softly, "John, can ye tell me what happened?" John didn't verbally respond, but his tremors slightly increased. "Can ye tell me what happened to McKay, Ford, and Teyla?" As soon as Carson had mentioned their names, John's tremors became extremely intense and his breathing rapid. "He's goin' into shock!" Carson exclaimed. He got up close to John's face and spoke calmly, "Take it easy, son. I need ye to concentrate on slowin' yer breathin' and relaxin' yer muscles, okay?" John's eyes slowly began to close. Elizabeth slid her hand back from his forehead and started stroking through his hair on the top of this head. "John!" Carson called and placed his hand on his forehead. "He's not respondin', and he's burnin' up," he stated as he opened one of John's closed eyes and brought his penlight back out.

"Carson, what's happening? Is he all right?" she asked with a weary voice as she continued stroking his hair.

"His pupils are fixed and his breathin' is erratic. We need to get him on a ventilator!" Carson exclaimed as he was shining a light into John's eye's hoping for the slightest reaction.

**Chapter Five "Visual Recording Device"**

Elizabeth felt goose bumps traveling up and down her body, and her heart was racing. She couldn't help but shutter at the sight of Carson and two of his assistants placing a tube down the Major's throat. He didn't even gag. He was out cold, but yet his tremors remained. She felt a knot forming in her throat and her eyes welding up once again with tears as she looked again at all the bruises and abrasions on his limp and battered body. She began running scenarios through her mind on what could have possibly happened on that planet that would have caused the Major to have received such a severe beating. She thought to herself, 'Did they run into Koyla of the Genii?', 'Did they run into any Genii?', 'Did they run into the Wraith? Although, they would more than likely suck the life out of John rather than beat him to death', 'What could have possibly happened to have caused John to be so terrified', and then she suddenly remembered something. She franticly reached down the front of John's military vest and opened the top pocket. She pulled out a small visual recording device that appeared slightly damaged, but then discovered with relief that the memory card she pulled out of the device was unharmed. Whatever happened to John and the rest of his team was in the palm of her hand. She looked up at Carson and was suddenly hearing all the commotion that was happening around her once again.

"Okay, everyone. On three. One...Two...Three...," Carson instructed as himself and several of his medical assistants lifted the Major and gently but swiftly placed him on a gurney.

Elizabeth caught Carson's attention with a worried expression. He immediately offered his hand and helped her up off the ground, with the memory card still clutched in her other hand. He then quickly went back to aiding John as his assistants were already in the process of placing a heart monitor on him to keep track of his vital signs, and sticking an IV in one of his arms.

Within a matter of seconds, Carson and his assistants were rushing John toward the infirmary. Elizabeth was not far behind, but just before she entered the infirmary a medical assistant stopped her and asked her to remain outside the infirmary for the time being. "No, I want to see what's happening. I'll stay out of the way," she exclaimed with authority.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but it would be best if you stayed out here. I'll make sure that Doctor Beckett informs you of the Major's condition once they have things under control," the medical assistant calmly explained to Elizabeth.

As Carson was frantically working on getting a surgical team ready he overheard the aggressive tone in Elizabeth's voice as she was arguing with one of his medical assistants just outside the entrance to the infirmary, so he quickly rushed over. "Elizabeth, it would be best if ye stay out here. I promise I will come and inform ye of John's condition once I have him stable," Carson explained to her as quickly as possible.

"Very well…," Elizabeth sighed, "Keep me informed," she quivered with tear welding eyes. Carson nodded in acknowledgement and started to walk away, but then turned back toward her when she spoke again; remembering what she was holding in her hand. "I believe I have some video footage of what happened to him," she said quickly, holding up the memory card.

"Good! Find out as much as ye can from the video footage and let me know if there is anythin' on there that might help me understand more about the Major's physical condition," Carson responded just before the monitoring machines stopped beeping out a rhythmic sound, but a ringing flat-line. He immediately rushed over to John's side, "He's codin'! Charge the defibrillator and increase the oxygen flow to his ventilator," he ordered to his medical assistants. Everyone was moving so swiftly that Elizabeth was having trouble understanding what exactly was going on. She wanted to go find out if there was any footage on the memory card, but she decided she couldn't leave until they got John's heart going again. She stayed outside the entrance of the infirmary, but kept her eyes on John. John received several jolts from the defibrillator, but still no pulse. "Come on, John! Help me out here!" Carson yelled out, giving John another jolt. Then a weak rhythmic beep rang from the monitors and Carson quickly put his stethoscope on John's chest, "He's got a pulse...and it's gettin' stronger." He then let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his lab coat. Meanwhile, Elizabeth realized she had been holding her breath and let out a long exhausting breath herself. They both made eye contact and Carson gave her a nod, letting her know it was okay for her to leave. She gave another long exhausting breath and slowly walked away after looking one last time at John as the commotion continued around him.

**Chapter Six "Answers"**

Her heart was racing, and she suddenly became overwhelmed when she realized that she might have to witness the brutal beating of a grown man whom is not only her ranking military officer but also a dear friend. She might even find out what happened to the rest of his team. The thought made her suddenly very aware that her stomach was in knots. However, her mind suddenly went blank when she realized Dr. Zelenka was back from transferring what was on the memory card onto a compact disk. She noticed he had a bit of a smirk on his face, so he had to be a barer of good news. "Zelenka, did it work? Was the memory card unharmed?" she asked him with urgency.

"The memory card was undamaged, and I was able to get everything transferred over to video without any problems. I already have a team setting up a laptop in the briefing room so you can watch the footage," said Zelenka who seemed very proud of himself.

"Thank you, Doctor. I can take it from here," she expressed to Zelenka. He took that as a sign that she preferred to watch the footage by herself, so he handed her the disk and went back to his usual duties.

On her way to the briefing room, she wasn't sure at first on whether or not the success of getting the footage onto video was such a good thing. The closer she was getting to the briefing room, the stronger she felt that it wasn't such a good thing. She knew that it was only because she was afraid to see what was on the disk, but she had to fight it and find out what happened. She took a long breath and entered the briefing room to see that everything was set up and ready. She sat down in her usual chair, picking up the compact disk and inserting it into the drive. She had trouble inserting it at first because her hands were so shaky, but she eventually got things under control. She pushed play and then sat back in her chair, waiting for the footage to show up on the laptop. It took a few minutes to appear on the screen and suddenly, realizing she was holding her breath again, she let out a long breath as soon as the screen came to life.

**Chapter Seven "Video Footage"**

"Hey, Teyla, wait up!" Major Sheppard shouted, trying to catch up with her on the way to the gate room.

"Major, where have you been? Lt. Ford was just about to... how does Aiden put it... track you down," expressed Teyla with one eyebrow raised and a slight grin on her face. Sheppard smiled in response, amused at how quickly Teyla was picking up on earth phrases.

Ford leaned over and put his hand on Sheppard's shoulder as if he were going to whisper, "It's true, Sir. Rodney's never ending pretentious nagging about wanting to find out whom or what sent that distress signal is really starting to get on my nerves." Just then, at that very moment, Rodney came out of nowhere to join them.

"So, did I miss the briefing? No..., good let's go then. Time is of the essence people," exclaimed Rodney who was anxious to get to the planet. Ford cleared his throat while Sheppard and Teyla merely smiled in amusement.

They went down the main steps entering the gate room, where the team met up with Dr. Elizabeth Weir. "Major, I trust that I don't have to remind you and your team to be careful."

"Oh, come now Elizabeth! Where's the fun in that?" said Sheppard, giving his boyish smile. Elizabeth merely cocked her head slightly and smiled back.

The gate was activated and the team entered the event horizon, but just before John walked through the gate he turned to look at Elizabeth to give his usual crooked smile, and then he entered the event horizon.

John and his team were now rematerialized on the other side, and the scenery was absolutely breathtaking. The sky had a bluish purple tint, the leaves on the trees were just as green as the grass beneath their feet, and the air had a sweet floral smell from all the multi colored alien flowers that were surrounding the gate. "Wow!" exclaimed John, not knowing what other word could possibly describe what he was seeing.

"Wow, is right, Sir!" exclaimed Ford, looking all around him.

"Nah…, this is nothing. You should really see some parts of Canada. Except the sky is blue of course," Rodney paused with a smirk as he was swatting several bugs from the power bar he was eating, "and Canada doesn't have such annoying bugs." Rodney then ran up along side Teyla to try and rid himself from the strange insects.

"I would have to agree with the Major and Lt. Ford, Dr. McKay. This world is quite breathtaking," Teyla pitched in, amazed by the scenery that surrounded them.

"Ah, yes, but you have never been to Earth let alone Canada. Now Canada has some absolutely breathtaking landscapes, and you don't have to put up with as many pesky bugs," Rodney said to Teyla, noticing the insects had returned and were once again swarmed around his power bar. "Fine, take it!" he yelled, throwing the power bar into the tall grass. The strange insects immediately followed the food. "I bet you pesky things are happy now! Ah..., this is just great! I'll just have to starve until we get back to Atlantis," Rodney wined. Teyla smiled at his remark, while John and Ford shook their heads smiling.

Ford stated, "You know, if you would have eaten earlier instead of talking my ear off in the mess hall about wanting to get to this planet so anxiously you wouldn't be so hungry right now." Ford smiled being pleased with himself that he got the opportunity to get that off his chest. John and Teyla couldn't help but chuckle.

"Oh, that's real funny! Everyone laugh at the starving man," Rodney wined again.

"All right, group… let's get back to what we came here for." John commanded, followed by a short pause as he once again looked around at their surroundings. "So, McKay… where do we go from here?"

"How do I know? What am I, the answer man?" Rodney stated with annoyance.

"McKay!" John exclaimed with equal annoyance.

"All right, all right! Let me think," Rodney stated as he pulled out a device that once belonged to the ancients and can detect life signs, among other things. "Okay…, according to these readings, there are several life signs and energy levels coming from… that direction," Rodney said pointing toward the trees that were on their left.

"Do the readings say anything about the distress signal we had received?" asked Ford. McKay, however, looked a little annoyed by his question.

"I'm assuming that's what the energy level readings are," Rodney said in his usual arrogant tone.

"How can you be sure?" asked Ford as he walked up along side McKay to glance at the device. Rodney gave him an annoyed look.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because the magic ancient device hasn't been wrong yet!" said Rodney very arrogantly. Ford then gave McKay an annoyed look.

"All right, kiddies! That's enough of that. Ford and Teyla, you watch our six. McKay, you stay by me at point to lead the way. I'll have to keep you two kids separated on this trip," said John while he walked past them to take point. Ford and McKay exchanged a quick childish glance and then did as the Major ordered, while Teyla seemed amused by the whole situation.

John and his team walked for hours, stopping here and there to take in more of the scenery. "Sir, is that a mountain up ahead?" Ford asked John, thinking that if it was a mountain it was a strange looking one.

"McKay?" John asked Rodney, also thinking it was a strange looking mountain.

"Actually…, it looks more like a large dome structure of some kind," Rodney stated with heavy breathing, feeling out of shape for such long distant walks.

"Well, whatever it is, it seems to be in the same direction we're heading. Do you think that's where the energy levels are coming from?" Ford asked looking at the Major, but it was Rodney who answered.

"I would assume that is a big possibility, yes!" Rodney arrogantly smirked as he bent over to try and catch his breath. Ford gave him a quick stern stare, but then decided to let it go. He wasn't in the mood to get Rodney started again.

"All right, let's keep moving. It looks like we still have a while to go before we reach the dome thing," John stated as he started to walk on, but stopped and turned back when Teyla addressed him in a low toned voice that only the two of them could hear.

"Major… since it appears that we still have a good distance to travel, perhaps we should rest a while and give Dr. McKay a chance to… as you have said once before… catch his breath," Teyla suggested with a smile, while looking over at McKay bent over and breathing heavily. John also looked over at McKay and decided it might be a good idea. Feeling a bit exhausted himself, he didn't want to have to carry Rodney the rest of the way if he were to pass out from infamous manly hunger.

"All right…, change of plans everybody. Let's rest here for a bit before we continue. I'll take first watch. Ford, you'll be after me." John stated, suddenly feeling the exhaustion kick into full affect. He normally wouldn't tire so easily, but it was something about this place that didn't feel right to him. It was almost like something was telling him to turn back, and the feeling was taking a toll on his physical strength.

"Yes, Sir!" Ford replied.

"Ah..., thank you," Rodney managed to say under his breath as he found the nearest boulder and sat down to rest up against it.

John was the only one left standing as he kept watch with his P90 at hand. He felt his bad right knee try to give out on him, but he kept it under control. He hadn't realized how tired his legs were until he was standing still. His aching knee was a constant reminder that he shouldn't have gone surfing so close to the rocks by the shore twelve years ago, but it hadn't given out on him like that in along time. It caused him to feel even more suspicious about the exhausting effects he was feeling since they arrived on the planet. He found it even stranger that the effects seemed to be getting stronger as they got closer to the energy readings coming from the dome. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as his knee tried to give out on him once again, but he remand standing. He turned and looked at his team to assure himself that no one noticed his stumble, but he knew Teyla had when he saw her coming towards him with a water canteen.

"Major, are you all right? Do you need some water?" she asked, holding the canteen up to him and putting her free hand on his arm.

"I'm fine," he stated abruptly hoping to hide his fatigue.

"Maybe Ford or even myself could take first watch?" Teyla suggested, knowing that John was putting on a front. She could tell by his stamina that he was clearly exhausted.

"I'll be fine, Teyla. I'll have Ford take over in about fifteen minutes. You go ahead and get yourself rested. We'll be moving on after Ford stands watch for about fifteen minutes, okay?" John told her in a calm tone to let her know he appreciated her concern.

"Very well, but will you at least drink some water?" she asked, holding the canteen a little higher. John subdued, gently grabbing the canteen from her hand and took a couple swigs of water. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was either until he felt the cool water run all the way down into his stomach.

"Thanks," he replied and handed the canteen back to her. She smiled and then walked away, accepting her defeat. She new John was a proud and stubborn man, but it has not yet stopped her from trying. She also has never known him to tire so easily, and it concerned her.

Each minute John stood there he felt the weight on his legs increasing. He couldn't believe how long fifteen minutes was becoming. He kept looking down at his watch several times in disbelief that only seconds had gone by. He even started to wonder whether or not his watch wasn't working, but he wasn't about to ask Ford what time he had on his watch. He felt the weight getting heavier and heavier as each minute passed, and he could feel his legs starting to buckle from exertion. He decided to start shifting his weight from one leg to the other, but the exhaustion was getting too strong. He tried closing his eyes and took a few deep breaths, but he felt himself tipping over. He quickly regained his balance and turned around to see if anyone noticed, but was glad to see they all had their eyes closed resting. He looked down at his watch again and was astoundingly thrilled to see that his fifteen minutes of standing there had finally come to an end.

Realizing he was barely able to walk as far as he had back to the rest of his team, he decided to find the nearest shady tree and call out to Ford that it was his turn to stand watch. "Ford?" he called out, unintentionally waking the rest of them up as well.

"Yes, Sir?" Ford asked a little groggy, waking up from his short nap.

"I need you to stand watch for about fifteen minutes and then we'll get on our way again," John instructed as he unsnapped his P90 from his vest and rested it on his lap. He also couldn't help but notice the pleased expression on Teyla's face that he was finally taking his turn to rest.

"Yes, Sir." Ford replied, feeling wide-awake and refreshed after resting.

Only a couple of moments had passed and John's eyes were closed. He could hear McKay mumbling something after he heard him call his name. He even heard Teyla telling Rodney to let him rest, but Rodney kept ranting on about something. John was both annoyed and reluctant to open his eyes, but he was afraid of what Rodney had gotten himself into this time. He opened his eyes to find both McKay and Teyla holding some strange fruit in their hands.

"McKay?" he strained, getting Rodney's attention. John looked down at his watch and was very disappointed that he only got to lie there undisturbed for five minutes. McKay started to respond, but he was abruptly interrupted by Teyla.

"It is nothing important, Major. You need rest… I won't let Dr. McKay disturb you again," she said while giving Rodney a stern look.

"Well go ahead and quickly tell me since I'm already awake," John managed to mumble, feeling his eyes trying to close by themselves. Teyla, knowing how Rodney goes into too much detail, abruptly cut him off again.

"He merely wanted to show you this strange fruit he has discovered," she shortly stated, holding up an oval shaped yellow fruit that was covered in bumps. She then looked back at Rodney who was giving her an annoyed look for cutting him off again, but she returned the look and then turned back to looking in John's direction.

"That's it?" John asked, fighting to keep his eyes open. He started to speak again, but stopped after he heard Ford.

"Hey, let me see one of those things," Ford requested, taking one from Teyla's hand. "Yuk! What's this slimy stuff on the outside of it?" he exclaimed, dropping the fruit and wiping the slime on his pant leg.

"I'm not really sure, but it is kind of disgusting isn't it?" Rodney inquired as he too wiped the slime onto his uniform. Teyla followed their example and placed the fruit on the ground as well.

"This slimy stuff can't hurt us can it?" Ford asked with concern.

"I'm sure we'll be fine as long as we don't consume them, Lieutenant! Don't be so dramatic!" Rodney replied, continuing to wipe more slime off his hands and on to his uniform. Ford would have had a comeback, but he was too thrown by the irony that McKay would have the nerve to say such a thing. Especially since it was usually Rodney that was playing the overdramatic hypochondriac.

"Should we not at least take one back with us and have Dr. Beckett check to see if it is safe to eat? We need more food supplies do we not?" Teyla asked, looking down at the fruit on the ground with disgust.

"Even if we did take one back with us and Beckett says it's safe to eat, I don't think anyone would eat it. I mean look at it! It doesn't look appetizing to me at all, and I'm starving," Ford stated with Rodney nodding in agreement. Rodney suddenly thought back to his precious power bar that he was forced to donate to the native bugs of this miserable planet, and he couldn't see himself substituting the strange fruit for his power bar any day. Meanwhile, Teyla looked down at the fruit again and also thought it looked extremely unappetizing as her stomach gave off a quiet gurgle. Then she felt some slight pain and discomfort, but she kept it to herself assuming it was caused by hunger.

John looked to the left of him to see several of the fruit they were discussing lying on the ground about four feet away from him, but he was too tired to reach for them and allowed himself to fall back asleep. While John was sleeping, the rest of them continued in conversation.

"Hey, you guys… I'm not feeling so hot. Are you sure that slime won't harm us, McKay?" Ford asked as he placed one of his hands over his stomach in pain.

"I'm not some voodoo doctor, Ford! You're probably just hungry," said Rodney, suddenly realizing he was feeling an unusual sick feeling in his stomach that didn't feel like hunger. "Actually…, I don't think I'm feeling to good either…," he said, trailing off and losing consciousness. Ford and Teyla rushed to his side.

"McKay!" exclaimed Ford as he checked Rodney's pulse. He didn't even get the chance to feel a heart beat when he suddenly saw Teyla lose consciousness. "Teyla!" Ford exclaimed, only to start feeling lightheaded himself. Then, he too was lying unconscious right next to Teyla and Rodney.

Their bodies seemed so lifeless for several moments, and then Rodney's body started to stir, followed by Teyla's, and then Ford's. They weren't really saying anything that sounded like words, more like moans and mumbles. Their faces were hard to make out, but their skin did seem very pale and covered with perspiration. They all stumbled to their feet and wondered off in different directions, out of sight from the major's video view while he still remained asleep under the shady tree.

At least twenty minutes had past with only the view of where Teyla, Ford, and Rodney once were showed on the video. Then the video moved. At first, it just seemed like John had taken a deep breath in his sleep, but then the video moved again. John was waking up.

John woke up slowly, feeling very sluggish, and looked down at his watch to see that he had been asleep for almost two hours. He shot a look over at where his team used to be, and jumped to his feet when he saw they were no longer there. With his military instinct kicking into gear, he raised his P90 into an armed position. He looked all around him, but couldn't see any of his team members in any direction. "Ford!...McKay!...Teyla!...," John yelled, hoping to get a response. He paused and waited for one of them to answer, but there was nothing. Then, the sound of a breaking twig came from behind him. He spun around quickly, only to be startled by Ford's sudden appearance standing only a few feet away from him. Ford's stance was unusual and his head was tilted down, causing the bill of his hat to block John from getting a good look at his face. John kept his P90 in an armed position pointed in Ford's direction, not knowing exactly what was going on and what he should do. "Ford, is that you?" asked John, not totally being sure that it was him since he couldn't see all of his face. He didn't get any kind of response so he decided to take a different approach. "Ford, are you all right?" John asked, but still no response. "Ford, I need you to look at me or… say something before I can lower my weapon! Do you understand, Lieutenant?" John asked, raising his voice and starting to feel very uneasy about the whole situation.

"Uhhhh...," was all that came from Ford's form and then he lifted his head, giving John a clear view of his face. John was both surprised and frightened at what he saw. He could clearly tell it was Ford that was standing in front of him, but he did not look himself. His face was extremely pale with a blue tint, his eyes were completely white, and he was sweating profusely with perspiration all over his face. His expression was that of a mad man, and his breathing was heavy and erratic.

"Now Ford, that kind of attitude is definitely not going to make me lower my weapon," John snapped with a stern and sincere tone, keeping his P90 aimed and ready. Ford started moving towards him. "Stop right there, Lieutenant!" John ordered, continuing to keep his aim steady. Without any response, Ford did not stop and continued stumbling his way toward John. "Ford! That's far enough, buddy!" John yelled, but he still didn't stop. John couldn't afford to allow him to get any closer, so he lowered his aim and shot Ford in the leg. To John's surprise, the bullet wound didn't even phase Ford, and he kept coming towards him. "Holly shit, Ford! What happened to you?" John stated with his eyes wide in surprise. Before Ford got any closer, John kept his aim but started walking backwards to get away.

John continued walking backwards, keeping his eyes on Ford, and kept trying to talk him down until he bumped into something behind him. Turning around swiftly, he found himself face to face with Teyla. He felt himself holding his breath as he noticed she had the same symptoms as Ford. Mere seconds had passed as he was looking into her eyes, and then a sudden hot burning sensation was piercing him just below his right rib. The burning sensation quickly turned into a sharp pain, making him glance down to see that Teyla had drove her knife into his upper right side. With her hand still gripping the knife's handle, she thrust it out of him. Feeling himself gasping for air he tried cupping his wound with one of his hands, but the sharp pain remained. He started swaying, feeling himself losing his balance. "Teyla…?" was all he could manage to gasp out before he fell to his knees in front of her. He could feel blood pouring from his wound between the fingers of the hand he had cupped over it. He was beginning to feel lightheaded with his head spinning, still aware that Teyla and Ford were standing over him. Then, at the corner of his eye he saw movement to the right of him and he turned his head to see what it was. Rodney was walking towards them, and he too appeared to have the same symptoms as Ford and Teyla. "What happened… to you…? Why are you… doing this…?" John asked them, gasping and wincing with every breath of air he took. None of them responded to his question. Rodney suddenly grabbed John's P90 from him and used the butt of it to hit John across the face, causing a deep gash on the left side of his forehead. It caused John to fall back a little, but he bent back over to keep pressure on his side wound. "Please…? I'm your friend…, and I… want to help you…! We can go back to Atlantis… and Dr. Beckett can help you… He can fix you right up!" John pleaded as Ford picked up a large branch and swung it like a bat, impacting across John's chest. It knocked him onto his back and he began wheezing for air. "Please…? Listen to me… Don't do this…," John gasped out, but all three of them started pounding on him. Kicking and punching! It wasn't long until John lost consciousness and his body went limp, but they continued beating him anyway.

They eventually stopped their savage torment and walked away, out of visual range of the video recorder. For a little over an hour, John made no movements and neither did anything in his surroundings that the video could pick up. He must have still been unconscious, which came to no surprise after the beating he had just endured. All the video recorder could see was some treetops and the bluish purple sky above him. Then there was some slight video movement. John was starting to become conscious, letting out a few agonizing moans as he stirred.

He awoke starring up at the top of some trees and the bluish purple sky. At first, he couldn't remember where he was or why he was lying there until he tried to move and the sharp pains running through his entire body brought it all back into retrospect. He looked over to the left of him and noticed that his movement and grunts of pain had attracted Teyla's attention, with Ford and McKay nowhere in sight. She was on all fours crawling toward him with a fierce look in her eyes. He tried turning over on his side so he could try to get away from her, but a sudden sharp pain on his right side stopped him. "Oh, God… that hurt!" John gritted through his teeth as he winced in pain. It was too late. She was hovered over him now and breathing very heavy. She pushed the palms of her hands against his chest to put him flat on his back again. "Oh, God…! Teyla…!" John yelled out in pain, suddenly becoming fully aware that he had several broken ribs.

After the sharp pains in John's chest had subsided to painful throbs, his mind became a little clearer and he noticed that Teyla was in a new position. She now had herself straddled over his waist and was squeezing his hips between her thighs. Her face was so close to his that he could feel the hot air coming from her heavy breathing. He wasn't sure but he thought he heard her slightly growl, and then she began sniffing him like he was food. He tried to squirm out from under her, but she squeezed his hips even harder causing him to wince in pain. She was now running her hands affectionately down the sides of his face, down his chest, and on down toward his midsection. John was now fully aware of what her intentions were. She was like an untamed savage animal in heat as she went to unfasten John's pants, but he reached down and grabbed her hands to stop her. She became violent and released herself from his grip. She placed one of her hands over his side wound and applied enough pressure to make his vision turn gray, causing him to almost lose consciousness. "Ahhh…!" he yelled out, squeezing his eyes shut from the pain. He prayed to God that if this were a bad dream, now would be a good time to wake up. He could feel the tears running out of the corner of his eyes and down the sides of his face into his hair. His eyes shot open to the touch of her hands on each side of his face as she wiped away his tears. Then she affectionately grazed and nuzzled her nose along side his.

He tried remaining as still as possible as she continued her gentle and intimate enticements, taking it as an opportunity to regain his strength before she turned violent again. Then she coercively kissed him, wrapping her tongue around his. He was so exhausted and her strength was so overwhelming he didn't have the stamina to stop her. Their mouths parted and she nuzzled her noise against his, as her hands ventured down to try and unfasten his pants again. He reached down to stop her, but she swiftly pinned his arms down. Being a very flexible woman, she had quickly brought up her right leg to hold his left arm down and her left hand to hold down his right arm. She then aggressively used her free right hand to undo his pants. John felt sick to his stomach as he remained docile under her overbearing strength, and didn't know what else to do. "Teyla! Don't do this… please?" John pleaded, looking into the face of a friend but the eyes of a stranger. His anguished words didn't stop her as he begged, "Teyla…, please?" He tried squirming out from under her, but he felt his hopes of winning the battle diminishing as he winced in pain under her overbearing restraint.

After undoing his pants, she reached through the fly of his black boxers and tightly grasped what she desired. John winced in pain from her tight grip as she began to passionately stroke him. He wasn't coming even close to getting hard, but she didn't seem to care. Her mind appeared to be set on achieving one thing. She released her intimate hold on him and unpinned his arms. John immediately went to fasten his pants back up, but she stopped him once again. He felt so vulnerable to her strength as he crumbled beneath her. Slightly raising herself overtop of him, she vigorously took down her pants and threw them aside. She then straddled herself over his hips once again and bent over to kiss him with both her hands on each side of his face. He could feel her tongue throbbing in his mouth as she pressed hard against his lips. She then slid her hands down between their wrenched bodies to guide his flaccid penis inside her, but he quickly squirmed making it difficult for her. Parting their lips, she squeezed her thighs tightly around his hips holding him still long enough to guide him inside her. She was so rough that John couldn't help but wince and cry out through his tightly clenched teeth in agony. "Teyla, Please…? Please Stop…? Don't do this! Not like this…, please? Teyla, pl…" John pleaded but was cut off when she hastened their lips to rejoin in an even stronger embracive kiss.

She began to thrust hard and rough with passion like some wild animal, causing him to shake from the pain and cry out through their locked lips. Each time she thrust forward, putting him further inside her, he winced in pain and would give out a quiet cry that he was trying with all his might to keep in. His penis remaining flaccid was making it all the more painful, but her brutal assault continued. With their tongues still entwined, he felt every muscle in his body tightening and starting to quiver. He didn't know if he was going into shock because of all the blood he had lost or if it was because of what was happening. He felt the tears once again streaming out of the corner of his eyes and down the sides of his face into his hair. He didn't know how much more he could take, but he prayed to God it would be over soon.

It continued on for several moments as she thrust harder and harder down on him. Her breathing increased as she was reaching her climax. Her thrusts became not only harder, but also increased in speed. She finally cried out in ecstasy, and her thrusting slowed to almost a holt. She bent over with her nose alongside his, and she was breathing heavily against his cheek. John was shivering beneath her with tears still streaming down the sides of his face. Every muscle in his body was tight and quivering, and he was fighting with all his might to restrain his outcries as sharp pains were shooting throughout his entire body. He felt his abused and still flaccid penis throbbing so hard inside of her it hurt, and he was so obliged to being pulled out of her seconds later. Feeling so exhausted and in so much pain he almost didn't realize that she was no longer straddling him. He couldn't see her anywhere in sight, leaving him to lie there shivering and alone. He was in shock, and the harder he tried to make himself stop shaking the harder he shook. He closed his eyes tightly as more tears streamed down the sides of his face. He was so thankful she was gone and that it was over, but then he heard a sound coming from the woods on his left.

**TBC…**

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This is my first fanfiction story I've ever posted, so please be kind and try not to poke holes in it. I hope you enjoyed Part One, but before moving on to Part Two, push on that lovely little review button to let me know what you thought of my story. It's okay to feed the beast sometimes, and trust me, I'll eat the reviews right up if you give me positive feedback! It may even encourage me to post more stories! 


	2. Part Two

I sadly do not have a Beta Reader, so all mistakes are my own!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Stargate Atlantis or any of it's characters!

**Inhuman Part Two  
**Author: Maggie K. M.  
Characters: Aiden Ford, Carson Beckett, Elizabeth Weir, John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Zelenka  
Pairings: Sheppard/Weir  
Genres: General, Action & Adventure, Angst, Drama, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance  
Rating: M  
Warnings: Abuse, Language, Rape, Torture, Violence  
Summary: Sheppard enters the event horizon after giving Elizabeth his usual boyish smile. She smiles back, not knowing that may be the last time she will see him smile.

Before reading any further, make sure you read Inhuman Part One!

**Chapter Eight "Needing A Moment"**

The screen went blank as Elizabeth pushed stop on the laptop. Her trembling hands reached up and wiped the tears away from her pale cheeks. She had mixed emotions weld up inside her, and felt as though she needed a minute to collect her thoughts and pull herself together before she could continue watching anymore of the footage. She had run so many scenarios through her mind earlier on what might have happened to John, but she never considered the possibility that it was his own team members that had afflicted so much pain on him. The mere thought of it caused more tears to stream down her face. She wasn't even sure if she could force herself to watch anymore, but she knew she had to. For John's sake, she had to. She needed to understand everything he had gone through if herself and Carson were going to be able to help him through it.

Her thoughts were interrupted as a pair of hands rested on her shoulders. With a startle, she spun her chair around slightly to find Dr. Carson Beckett looking down on her. He looked exhausted, but had a reassuring expression painted on his face. He gradually took a seat in one of the unoccupied chairs, and scooted himself next to her. "How long were you standing behind me?" she quivered out as she felt more tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Long enough to see what happened to John, lass," Carson softly replied as he reached a hand up and wiped away a few of her tears with his thumb.

"John?" she asked in one word, trying to hold back the sobs that were fighting to escape her.

"He's stable for now, but still in critical condition. There are still some injuries on his body that I didn't see inflicted on him in the video," he paused and swallowed, "We need to watch the rest of it so I can have a better understandin' on how he got these injuries," Carson choked out slightly, hoping Elizabeth hadn't heard the crack in his voice. His eyes had a glassy reflection to them, and he was struggling to hold back his own tears. He felt her tense at the idea of watching the rest of the video, and reached down to give her hand a slight squeeze to let her know that he was there for her. "Ye don't have to watch the rest of it alone," he said in almost a whisper.

She wanted to verbally thank him, but all she could manage was a nod of understanding and appreciation. She could see he was fighting back his own tears, and knew that he was doing it for her sake as well as his own. She sat in silence as Carson called over his radio, "Sergeant Bates, this is Dr. Beckett."

"This is Sergeant Bates. What can I do for you, Doc?" Bates responded.

"Ye are good to go on sendin' a search and rescue party through the gate to look for the rest of Major Sheppard's team. However, in light of what I have seen on the video coverage that was recovered, I want them all wearin' biohazard suits until further notice," Carson informed.

"Understood, Bates out!" Bates exclaimed through the radio, while Carson turned his attention back to the woman sitting next to him. Elizabeth felt Carson give her hand a gentle squeeze before reaching over and pushing play on the laptop. They both exhaled a long exhausting breath as they fixed their eyes on the screen and waited for the video footage to continue.

**Chapter Nine "The Footage Continues"**

Feeling so exhausted and in so much pain he almost didn't realize that she was no longer straddling him. He couldn't see her anywhere in sight, leaving him to lie there shivering and alone. He was in shock and the harder he tried to make himself stop shaking the harder he shook. He closed his eyes tightly as more tears streamed down the sides of his face. He was so thankful she was gone and that it was over, but then he heard a sound coming from the woods on his left.

At first, John was afraid to move or make any sounds. Still being unable to stop himself from shaking, he knew he needed to pull himself together. He was frightened by the thought that his teammates would soon return, and he did not want to be around when they did. He then suddenly had a flashback of them hovering over him, punching and kicking. Feeling himself shake even more, he tried to block the images from his mind. His breathing became rapid, causing sharp pains to emit from his broken ribs. John forced himself to turn over onto his side, as he tried forcing his thoughts to concentrate on getting up and heading back towards the stargate. The pain was overwhelming as it coursed through his entire body, but he continued forcing himself to get up. He was now face down on his stomach, and then forced himself onto his hands and knees. The piercing pain from his side wound and chest was so sharp that he couldn't hold back the outcry that strained through his tightly clenched teeth, "Oh, God...! That hurts!" Wincing in pain, he slightly lifted his head and looked around to see if his outcry had attracted any unwanted attention. He had trouble focusing on anything as the world was spinning all around him. He didn't notice any movement, but he could hear noises coming from the woods on his left.

He had to close his eyes to try and control the sudden nauseated feeling in his stomach as the world around him continued to spin. Still on all fours, he was becoming lightheaded and felt himself starting to sway. Having had a concussion before, he knew what to expect and forced himself to reopen his eyes. He tried focusing on the ground in front of him, but the nausea was taking over. He felt the tightening in his chest, causing severely sharp pains, as he upchucked the contents of his stomach onto the ground in front of him. Wincing in pain as he desperately gasped for air, he looked down at the gurgitation with regret. Noticing that parts of the contents contained the turkey sandwich he had earlier for lunch, he wondered whether or not he would ever be able to eat his favorite food again after seeing it in such a disgusting form.

The startling sound of a breaking branch coming from the woods to the left of him interrupted his thoughts. He struggled to stand on his feet as the world around him continued to whirl. Swaying slightly, he braced himself against the nearest tree and looked around to catch his bearings. Seeing his P-90 lying on the ground not far from him, he staggered over and almost lost his balance as he slowly stretched down to retrieve it. He noticed immediately that his weapon felt heavier than usual, and realized he should snap it to the front of his vest. He reached for the clip on his BDU vest, but it was missing. He was worried that in his currently weakened state he will not be able to carry the weapon for long, so he snapped it to a strap on his leg and decided to drag it. He knew it might slow him down, but he didn't want to venture forward unarmed. Seeing neither Teyla, Ford, nor McKay anywhere in sight, he started heading toward the direction of the stargate.

Staggering as he walked as swiftly as his battered body would allow, he had to stop every fifteen to thirty minutes to catch his breath as the tightening in his chest increased. Every breath he took felt like his lungs were burning with a piercing pain. He could taste the blood in his mouth as he coughed it up with each deep intake of air. Gasping and fumbling his way toward the direction of the gate, he suddenly realized he was being followed. He turned around to see Teyla a good eighty to ninety feet behind him, and heading in his direction. He turned back toward the direction of the gate, and tried quickening his pace.

John was fighting through the pain as he forced himself into a jog, but he didn't get very far. Stopped dead in his tracks, Ford and McKay suddenly appeared in front of him. They were a mere ten feet away and John froze in apprehension of their approach.

McKay was the first to move toward John's direction, followed by Ford. Now running on adrenaline and fear, John jerked swiftly to his right to get away. Having moved to fast, an unbearable rush of pain coursed through his entire body. He collapsed to the ground on his hands and knees. "Ahhh...,God...!" he cried out, trying with all his might to stay conscience from all the pain shooting through his trembling body. He barely managed to fight back the darkness and regain his bearings. Forcing himself to glance up, he saw McKay still stumbling toward him. He frantically looked around for Ford, but he was nowhere in sight. Lifting his P-90, which seemed even heavier, he unsnapped it from the strap on his leg and aimed it at McKay. "I will shoot you if you don't stop," John stated as he forced himself back up into a standing position. He swayed a little, but kept his aim on the still approaching McKay. "Please..., just stop and step aside," John pleaded as his finger tightened on the trigger. He didn't want to shoot his friend, but he couldn't allow him to get any closer knowing he couldn't take him down in hand to hand combat in the weakened state his battered body was in. "McKay, please!" John choked. He felt his eyes filling with tears as he began tightening his finger on the trigger all the way. John expected the next sound he would hear to be the sound of a bullet discharging from his weapon, but instead he heard a cracking noise coming from the back of his skull.

He felt a crisp throbbing pain in the back of his head, and suddenly realized he was face down on the ground. Then, there was a piercing affliction in his already wounded side as a foot kicked him over onto his back. His vision was obscured, but just before he succumbed to the darkness he saw Ford hovered over him.

John lay unconscious on the ground, but the video device was still recording. It showed Ford standing over John's lifeless form with what appeared to be a large branch in his right hand. His appearance had not changed and his breathing was still erratic. His leg was sopped with blood that was draining from the bullet wound John had given him earlier. He staggered slightly and began kicking John mercilessly in his left side, but stopped when McKay approached. McKay was now in view standing over John's body, and he still looked crazed and ill with no change in his appearance either. They both hovered over John for a while as their erratic breathing remained constant. McKay knelt down over him and started poking and prodding as if he were trying to wake him. Getting no response from John, McKay became very agitated. Ford knelt down with him and tried shaking John awake, but there was still no response. Their actions seemed primitive and child-like. They became furious and started pounding down on John's already battered body.

Their hostile beating on John's fragile body did not last long, as they began rummaging through all his pockets. There was curiosity written all over their pale and blue tinted faces as they pulled items out of the bottom pockets of his BDU vest. They would have reached the video recorder in the top pocket of his vest if the moans emanating from John had not distracted them.

John woke slowly, not being able to hold back the agonizing moans. Ford jabbed John in the chest with one of his index fingers, causing him to come to full awareness. It took a few moments for the ache in his chest to subside, and his vision cleared as he blinked away the painful tears he was unable to hold back. He could see Ford and McKay crouched over him, and he immediately tensed out of fear. John felt pretty sluggish, but was suddenly very well aware that McKay was affectionately caressing his inner left thigh. John felt himself go rigid every time McKay's hand slipped upward toward his groin, but then he would feel himself relax again when McKay's stroke would stop just before his groin and head south toward his knee. John started to speak, but was cut off when Ford gently placed a hand over his mouth. He couldn't believe how warm Ford's hand felt over his quivering lips. John found it even more odd that Ford's other hand began fiddling through his blood matted hair, as if he were grooming a fellow chimpanzee. The grooming may have been soothing under different circumstances, but instead caused tingling goose bumps to form on his scalp. John's tension may have subsided if it were not for his train of thought being suddenly drawn away by McKay's hand sliding further up his inner thigh to his groin. John began to panic and tried to jerk away, but Ford pinned him down. He couldn't speak out more than a grunt with Ford's hand still over his mouth, but he managed to endure the pain shooting through his body as he frantically began kicking his legs. He was only able to muffle outcries of protest through the hand over his mouth as McKay began working on undoing John's pants. He closed his eyes and continued yelling out through Ford's hand, hoping that the yelling would bring them to their senses. John's yells eventually turned into whimpers, as McKay began sliding his pants down past his already bruised hips that Teyla had afflicted on him earlier. He couldn't believe what was happening. He was overwhelmed as scrambled thoughts ran through his head. He thought back on Teyla's sexual assault and couldn't believe he actually thought it couldn't get any worse after that. John felt his shaking turn into uncontrollable tremors. He wished he was back at Atlantis in his bed fast asleep, and that he would soon wake up from this unbearable nightmare.

McKay had John's pants and boxers pulled down to his knees, which made it very difficult for John to continue kicking. He was so exhausted that he doubted he could have kept kicking for much longer anyways. Suddenly realizing he was being turned onto his side and his legs bent and pinned up against his chest, John became down right terrified.

Ford removed his hand from John's mouth and helped McKay pin John's scrawny and tired legs up against his aching chest. "Wait...! Please..., don't! Don't do this," John cried out as McKay unzipped his own pants. "What's wrong with you guys? I'm not gay…, and I know for a fact that neither of you are!" John exclaimed with a short pause, "McKay…, I know you like blonde females! Especially that Samantha Carter chick! And Ford…, I don't recall you ever mentioning a particular female you liked, but I never missed the looks you gave some of the female nurses in the infirmary. So, please… don't do this! It's not who you are!" John pleaded rapidly with panic, but immediately clenched his butt cheeks together when he felt the head of McKay's penis brush up against him. He felt himself shudder as McKay forced them apart. John was panic stricken as he felt McKay's throbbing shaft slide between his butt cheeks and stop just outside his rectal opening. "Rodney, please...! Please, don't," John pleaded with tears in his eyes as his body continued to shake uncontrollably with fear. John almost believed he had gotten through to him when he felt McKay hesitate, but all thoughts escaped him and were filled with shear pain as McKay pushed himself inside. "Oh..., God...," John cried out in pain as McKay was continuing to force his way in. He caught his breath as he felt himself being stretched and torn. McKay wasn't even giving John's prostate time to adjust, and it felt like a knife was being jabbed in and out of him as McKay began thrusting. John could feel rips and tears as sharp pains followed McKay's inner thrusts. It hurt so much that more tears formed in his eyes and streamed down his face. John could no longer hold back his outcries as McKay's thrusts became not only harder, but also increased in speed. He was in so much pain that he wasn't even aware that Ford was unpinning his legs from his chest.

McKay continued thrusting harder and harder, but John noticed the pain was starting to go numb and the pressure was easing. John could even feel the blood oozing out each time just before McKay would thrust back in. His own blood was serving as McKay's lubrication for an easier assault. John suddenly became overwhelmed by the thought and began to sob. The tears poured down his face and the heavy sobs caused sharp pains in his chest, but he didn't care. He felt as though he wanted to die. He could see his P-90 on the ground not far away, but just far enough that he couldn't reach it. He wanted to put himself out of his misery. To him, suicide was usually an act of cowardice in his book, but at the moment it didn't matter. He almost found it ironic that not only was he being physically tortured, but mentally. He had the means to solve his physical suffering right in front of him, and yet some cruel fate made sure it would be just out of his reach.

John's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he finally realized his legs were no longer pinned to his chest, and that Ford was now fondling his privates. John couldn't help but gasp out a slight whine as Ford wrapped his right hand around his penis. Feeling a sharp pain, John realized he was still very sore from his earlier sexual encounter with Teyla. He tried to reach down to stop Ford from stroking his already battered and flaccid penis, but Ford used his left arm to pin John's attempts out of the way. Ford then brought his mouth down to John's penis and aggressively took him inside. John cried out in pain as he felt Ford's teeth scrapping into raw flesh as he bobbed his head up and down on his throbbing shaft. Ford was sucking hard and fast, as he was almost at the same rhythm as McKay. John couldn't help but yell out in pain a couple of times when Ford would bite down on his penis just enough to break the skin and draw blood. Each time, John was terrified that Ford might bite all the way through.

"Ahhh..," John yelled out as Ford once again bit down slightly and scrapped his teeth along his battered and blood covered penis. John could hear both men groan deeply in pleasure from the sound of his outcries and their sexual assault. John continued to sob as tears poured down his face, but then he suddenly realized that Ford and McKay had both stopped their assault simultaneously. John tilted his head slightly and looked up to see they were looking away with their completely white eyes at something behind him. He tilted his head as far back as he could to try and get a glance at what they were looking at, and there she was.

Teyla was a mere five feet away, and she breathed heavily with her right hand braced against the trunk of a tree. Her face was still pale with perspiration and her eyes completely white, but the expression on her face was pure rage. She seemed angry at the sight of what McKay and Ford were doing to John. It was an almost jealous rage.

John couldn't help but whimper out in pain as he felt McKay pull out from his throbbing and inflamed rectum, and it wasn't until after the pain dulled that John noticed Ford had pulled away as well. He watched them stand immediately and make their way toward Teyla's direction, while leaving him lie there trembling and indecent. He was tempted to continue watching them approach one another as Teyla began moving forward, but forced his eyes to look away. He heard them begin to growl and snarl at each other, but he still avoided looking back at them. Even when he heard them start to fight and wrestle, he did not dare turn to observe. He knew he needed to take advantage of their sudden disinterest in him to escape.

John slowly raised his knees to his chest and grabbed the waistband of his pants that were down around his ankles. Trying desperately to hold himself together as his movements caused him severe pain, he pulled his boxers and pants back up over his bruised hips. Although, he wasn't able to holdback the outcry that escaped his lips when he had to tuck in his abused penis so he could zip up the fly to his trousers. He then forced himself onto his hands and knees, only to feel the full force of his nausea. There was a tightening in his chest as he upchucked the contents of his stomach onto the ground in front of him for the second time that day, but this time he did not wait for the pain in his chest to subside. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and noticed it was trembling, but he shook it off as he forced himself to stand. Without looking back, he picked up his P-90 and managed to get into a slow jog toward the direction of the stargate when he started to feel lightheaded. Even his body was becoming numb, and his legs were beginning to wobble beneath him. He could barely hold the weight of his weapon and the world around him was beginning to spin, but he pushed on seeing the stargate not far up ahead. He forced his legs to try and move faster, but he kept stumbling to the ground under his tiresome legs. "Come on, John..! Get up..! Get your ass moving..!" he yelled at himself through gritted teeth as he forced himself to his feet again. He tightened his grip on his P-90 and started running with full determination to reach the gate. Afraid to slow down, he slammed himself against the DHD and leaned his full weight over it as he quickly dialed the coordinates for Atlantis. Raising the device attached to his wrist, he shakily punched in his IDC code as best he could. He then slowly eased his weight off the DHD and pushed off into a full sprint toward the active gate. He only made it about halfway in between the DHD and the gate when his legs once again gave out on him. "Come on..! You're almost there..! Get up..!" he yelled to himself, but his body didn't want to listen. He felt his body trembling beyond control as he tried with all his might to stand. The dazed feeling in his head was becoming unnerving, but he was suddenly distracted when he thought he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He alertly raised his head to look around, but his vision was becoming blurred and unfocused. He rested himself up on his knees, and raised his P-90 that had fallen to the ground in front of him. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he clenched his teeth tightly to try and control the exertion that was trying to overtake him. Then a noise of breaking branches brought him to a panic as he took aim and started firing in all directions. There was really nothing there, but his vision was so blurred that he continued firing out of fear. He was so fatigued and on the edge of losing consciousness that he wasn't thinking straight. He didn't even realize he was out of ammunition after only a few shots. All that was coming out of his weapon was a clicking noise, but he was so frightened by what he couldn't see that he kept squeezing the trigger. The adrenaline that was now pumping through him helped him find the strength to get to his feet. Ignoring the piercing pains shooting through his entire body, he sprinted into the gate and rematerialized on the other side of the event horizon. His vision slightly clearing from the adrenaline rush, he continued running franticly through the gate room and up the main steps yelling, "Activate the shield…! Activate the shield…!"

**Chapter Ten "Needing To Be Strong"**

Not wanting to relive those agonizing moments, Elizabeth pushed stop on the camcorder. She felt a catch in her throat as she tried to swallow back the tears that were fighting to come out. Losing the battle as one tear rolling down her face turned into several, she cupped her hands over her eyes and rested her elbows on the table in front of her. She could no longer hold herself together as shivers ran up and down her body, and she began sobbing uncontrollably. She almost forgot that Carson was even in the room until she was suddenly startled by his strong embracing hands rapped around her slender shoulders. She looked up to find his eyes were filled with unshed tears, and she knew he was battling to hold himself together for her benefit. One of them needed to remain strong, and Elizabeth felt guilty that it would have to be Carson. "I'm sorry! I know I should be stronger than this. Especially for John's sake. We both need to be strong if we're going to help him through this," she said softly as more tears trickled down her pale cheeks.

"No, lass! Ye have nothin' to be sorry for. I have a great deal of experience with this sort of situation havin' treated patients in the past whom had suffered under similar circumstances, just none of them had suffered nearly as bad as our lad John here did. Even I am havin' trouble keepin' my emotions in check," Carson paused to swallow back tears that were on the verge of pouring down his face, "He is our friend... and we will help him through this... but, Elizabeth,... he's not in this room," he paused again to let out a long exhausting breath, and raised his right hand to Elizabeth's face to brush away some of her tears, "Ye don't have to be strong for him in here," he said softly as he wiped more of her tears away and drew her in closer for a hug.

She willingly let herself go as the tears came pouring out, and she buried her face into his strong chest. Feeling her sobs increase, Carson held her even tighter as he tried soothing her with his hands caressing up and down her back. He wanted to give her some comforting words, but was unable as a few tears escaped down his face. He swallowed hard and closed his eyes as he rested his chin on the top of her head. He could no longer fight the tears that were streaming down his face as he held his crying friend in an even tighter embrace.

**Chapter Eleven "Weight Lifted"**

Carson and Elizabeth had held each other for several moments before parting from one another's embrace, due to Sergeant Bates entering the room and clearing his throat to let his presents be known. Elizabeth felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from her as she wiped away her remaining tears, and straightened her posture before fully facing Sergeant Bates. "Sorry to bother you, ma'am, but the search and rescue team has sent us a radio transmission that they are coming up empty handed with no sign of the Major's team. Would you like me to send another search team and give them a chance to rest?" Bates asked, trying not to show any response to walking in on her crying into Carson's chest.

"Do you think the next search team might find them, Sergeant?" she asked after standing up and pulling herself together.

"It's hard to say, ma'am, but it is a large planet with a great deal of ground to cover. I believe that if we keep sending search teams one after the other, we will eventually zero in on their position and bring them home," Bates stated with confidence.

"Sounds like a plan, Sergeant. Go ahead and send the next search party, and let me know immediately if they find anything," Elizabeth stated and then gave the Sergeant a nod of approval, but before he left he turned toward Carson who was still sitting.

"Doctor, is there anything you need the search party to bring back from the planet for study?" Bates asked in hopes that there was something else he could do to help.

"Aye, actually there is, lad. It would be great if they could bring back a fruit that is yellow in color with slime and bumps all over it's outer coverin', and place it under quarantine in my lab. Also be sure that yer search teams continue to wear the biohazard suits. I am now sure there is a contaminate on the planet. In fact, just to be safe, have the search party that is just about to return through the gate report immediately to quarantine for a cleansin' before they take their biohazard suits off. Make sure ye send them the message by radio transmission before they come through that gate, and have all of the following search parties go through the same process when they return," Carson paused as he stood from his seat and gave a quick glance at Elizabeth before turning back to look at Bates, "Also have yer search parties bring extra bio suits with them incase they find McKay, Ford, and Teyla. They will have to be placed under quarantine once they are found, and I suggest ye arm yer search parties with dart guns since ye will more than likely have to sedate them. They were infected by the fruit I need ye to have brought back for me to study, so don't be surprised by there appearance when ye do eventually find them. Just get them sedated and into quarantine as soon as possible," Carson informed not wanting to go into too much detail. Sergeant Bates had a puzzled look on his face, but nodded in response to Carson's needs and turned to leave the room. Carson then looked back at Elizabeth and noticed that she seemed on edge as she began to fidget where she stood.

The first thing she wanted to do was visit John in the infirmary, but Carson could see that she was fatigued and recommended that she went and got some rest. He explained to her that it would be a while before John would wake, and that she could see him first thing in the morning. Elizabeth protested at first, but then gave into Carson's demands after he assured her that he would let her know if there was any change in John's condition or if the search party had found anyone. She nodded in defeat and stood to leave the briefing room, but stopped at the door to turn and give Carson a tired smile before heading towards her quarters. He knew the smile represented a 'thank you' gesture for him being there for her, so he nodded and smiled back at her to gesture 'you're welcome'.

Elizabeth couldn't remember her walk between the briefing room and her quarters, as she found herself standing in front of her door. She was too tired to try and regain the memories on how she got there, so she shrugged off her confusion as she opened the doors to her room and entered. Not even having the strength to change her clothes, she plopped down on her bed and fell fast asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

**Chapter Twelve "A Long Night For Carson"**

As Elizabeth was asleep in her quarters, Carson was in the infirmary checking up on John's condition. He looked down on John's frail body laying in the hospital bed wearing burgundy scrubs the nurses helped him dress John in after they got him cleaned up and stable, and couldn't believe his own team mates put him in this condition. He didn't blame them, though. Carson was sure that McKay, Ford, and Teyla were not in control of their own actions based on the video footage he watched with Elizabeth, but he couldn't imagine what might have possibly been running through John's mind during their assaults on him. It was something that Carson himself didn't want to think about, so he continued checking over John's vital signs. He made sure all of his bandages around his ribs were secure, and he listened to John's chest with his stethoscope to find everything was acceptable considering the condition his body was in. He still isn't exactly sure how John managed to stand on his own feet, let alone run through the gate room and up the stairs without collapsing. Carson just looked down at his friend in amazement as he grabbed John's wrist to check his pulse. He started to worry about how John was going to cope with the whole ordeal, but a slight twitch in John's hand broke his concentration. Carson immediately looked up to see John's eyes were slowly opening, and leaned forward to put his face in John's view. His eyes were barely open, but Carson could see some slight movement as it appeared that John was looking around. "John, can ye hear me?" he asked looking intently into John's hazel eyes. Not getting any kind of response, Carson held John's hand and gave it a slight squeeze. "I know it's uncomfortable, lad, but we had to insert a tube down yer throat to help ye breathe. Try not to speak, but if ye can hear me I need ye to squeeze my hand for me," Carson spoke as he kept his focus on John's face to see if there was any signs that John was really even conscious. He waited a few seconds, but there was still no response. Carson checked his pulse again to find it a little more rapid than before, but not enough for him to be in a wakened state. "John, can ye squeeze my hand?" Carson asked, but once again got no response. He reached for a penlight to flash in John's eyes, but John's eyes slowly closed and he was fully unconscious again. He cupped both of his hands around John's, and exhaled a long breath before placing John's hand back under the warm hospital blanket. He then sat down on a stool next to John's bed and starting filling out a progress report on John's condition.

After filling out the report, Carson looked around the room and then down at his watch to check the time. It was late, and the only staff members left in the infirmary were Carson and two female nurses that were keeping to themselves on the far side of the room; filling out patient progress reports at a desk. Carson took this as an opportunity to check on a few other injuries John had, and he pulled the privacy curtain halfway around so nobody could see in. He put on some latex gloves before lifting John's shirt to get to the waist band of his pants, but stopped when he saw the blood seeping through the bandages that were covering the stab wound he got from Teyla just below his left ribs. He slowly removed the blood soaked bandages and quickly cleaned the area. He then stopped the bleeding as best he could and bandaged the area back up with a clean and occlusive dressing. Once finished, he removed his blood covered gloves and replaced them with new ones as he went back to examining John's other injuries. He untied the strings in the front of John's pants and loosened the waistband to make it easier for him to slide them past John's slender hips. He nearly gasped at the sight of how much John's penis had reddened and swelled since he last saw it, when he and the nurses were cleaning him up before dressing him in the scrubs he now wears. He knew right away that he would have to wait for the swelling to go down before he could even attempt to insert an indwelling catheter. He then noticed that it was extremely hot to the touch as he gently examined to see if there were any signs of infection around the bite marks Ford had inflicted on him. Finding no signs of infection, he thoroughly cleaned the area to prevent any future infections from setting in. He then grabbed some antibiotic ointment and began gently rubbing it all over the injured area, but stopped and looked up when he heard John's heart monitor increase in rhythm. He was worried to see that his contact on John's genitals was causing such a dramatic response as his heart rate continued to increase. Carson quickened his pace but made sure he got every inch of John's penis covered with ointment. Noticing John's tachycardia was reaching a dangerous level, he broke contact and decided to wait a few moments to let his heart rate return to a safe level before he moved on to check John's prostate. He sat down on a stool and removed his latex gloves only to replace them with new ones, as he sat patiently watching John's heart rate gradually returning to a safe rhythm. When be believed it was safe, he gently slid John's pants all the way down to his ankles and then all the way off. He would have preferred to turn John on his side, to get better access to his backside, but he didn't want to do anything that might cause his side wound to start bleeding again. With that in mind, he reached down under both sides of the bed and brought up the stirrups that were folded underneath. He then slowly eased John's legs one at a time into the stirrups. After getting John settled into position, he wiped the area clean from dried blood as he paid close attention to how red the surrounding area of John's opening was. It was swollen and inflamed, but he didn't see any serious damage other than a few slits from his rectum being stretched. He didn't think they were deep enough to need stitches, and began applying some lubrication around John's opening. He needed to feel inside to see if there was any internal damage as he coated one of his index fingers with lubrication as well. He made sure John's opening was well lubricated before pressing in. As soon as his finger broke the barrier of the opening, Carson immediately noticed John's heart rhythm increasing once again. He quickly felt around the inner walls of John's prostate to find several rips. He gently ran his finger over them, and was pleased to find they were not deep. Finding no other signs of injury, he gently pulled out as John's heart rate was reaching a dangerous level again. He watched and waited for his vitals to level out before taking John's legs off the stirrups. He then gently slid John's pants back on, and covered him back up with several hospital blankets to keep him warm and comfortable. Carson then sat back on the stool to let out a long exhausting breath he had been waiting to let out since the first increase of John's heart rhythm occurred. He put himself into a deep thought and was worried that if John reacted that drastically to that kind of physical contact while he was unconscious, how will his body react to an exam in a wakened state.

Carson continued pondering as he stared at John's still form, but his line of concentration was cut short by the sound of a familiar voice. "Dr. Beckett!" Sergeant Bates addressed at a normal tone. Carson swiftly got up from the stool he was sitting on and walked around the privacy curtain to see Sergeant Bates standing stiffly at his desk.

"I hope ye got some good news for me, lad. I could sure use some," Carson said with a sigh as he walked over toward Bates and sat down at his desk.

"I'm afraid I have bad news and good news, Doc. The bad news, is that none of the search parties have found any signs of the Major's team yet. However, there is still a great deal of ground to cover. We have not given up hope. We will eventually find them and bring them home," Bates paused with a sighing exhale, "The good news, is that one of the search parties managed to find the fruit you had requested and placed several of them under quarantine in your lab. Other than that, I'm afraid I don't have much to report!" Bates stated as he shifted his weight from one leg to the other.

"That's alright, Sergeant! At this point, any news is better than no news," Carson sighed as he noticed Bates still stood there as if he had more to say. "Is there anythin' else ye needed, Sergeant?" he asked, watching Bates continue to shift his weight back and forth in a nervous manner.

"Uh...! I was wondering... how the Major was doing?" Bates asked nervously.

"Aye, lad. He's stable for now and in no serious danger. It will take time for him to heal, but he'll be back to his uppity self before ye know it," Carson said softly. He knows that Bates and John don't get along all the time, but he also knows that Bates has the utmost respect for John.

"If you don't mind me asking…, how did he get so banged up? None of the search parties have reported finding any hostile inhabitants… or any habitants at all for that matter!" Bates asked with concern.

"Well, as ye know, I already informed ye that McKay, Ford, and Teyla were affected by some fruit they had come into contact with," Carson sighed with a pause, "They are the ones that caused John to be in the condition he is in," he paused again as he saw Bates eyes open wide with surprise, "I can't go into detail on what they had done to him, due to patient privacy. But…, keep in mind that they were not in control of their actions. They had been compromised by the contaminant they got from the fruit they came into contact with. We shouldn't blame them... It wasn't their fault... It was beyond their control...," Carson stated, trying to let Bates know not to hold it against them after seeing a slight hint of anger in his eyes. Without saying anything, Bates just nodded and left the room. Carson could tell Bates was upset, but he knew when the time come he wouldn't hold anything against John's teammates once they were safely found and back to themselves again. But even Carson himself remembered feeling a slight tinge of anger when he first discovered where John got his injuries from, so he did not blame Bates for expressing some slight anger as well. It was a normal human reaction.

Speaking of normal human reactions... Feeling extremely exhausted, Carson let out a long breath as he rested his forehead onto the palms of his hands with his elbows rested on his desk in front of him. He had planned on closing his eyes for only a few seconds to gather himself, but instead fell into a deep slumber that his tired body could no longer fight off.

**Chapter Thirteen "The Next Day"**

Elizabeth didn't know what time it was or how long she had been asleep, but there was daylight shining through her windows. At first, she just laid there thinking she was waking up to another ordinary day until the events of the past day flashed through her mind. "John," she called out as she swiftly sat up. She went to stand, but plopped back down when she felt a sharp pain in her temples. It was like waking up to a hangover, but without the boos. She stood up again, but much slower this time. She looked down to see she was already dressed and left her quarters to head for the infirmary.

Once there, she immediately spotted Carson at his desk asleep. His head was resting peacefully on his folded arms that were lying on the top of his desk. She reached over and stroked her fingers through the hair on the back of his head, but was suddenly startled when he jerked his head up in reaction to her touch. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean for you to wake so abruptly. Are you alright?" she asked, looking at him with concern. She didn't miss the fact that he had slightly puffy circles underlining his eyes, and she could tell he didn't get much sleep by the exhaustion on his face. He looked so tired and rundown, as if he were up most of the night.

"Aye… It's okay, lass. Ye didn't really startle me too bad. I just hadn't realized I had fallen asleep," he said groggily as he stretched his arms above his head and yawned. He began rubbing at his tired eyes to get some of the sleep out, but was jolted into a more awakened state by Elizabeth's next question.

"How's John doing?" she asked anxiously as she fiddled her fingers together. She could feel her heart beat racing, as she waited in anticipation of Carson's response.

Elizabeth's question had swiftly reminded him of the events that took place yesterday, and he opened his eyes wide after giving them one last waking rub. "Uh... He's still on life support and his condition remains critical, but I think he's on his way to a safe recovery. His vital signs look promisin', and his condition is no longer life threatenin'. I'm still worried about any possible infections occurrin', but other than that his physical wounds should heal just fine. However, I am worried about how the events on the planet have affected his mental state…" he paused to let out a long breath; and shifted uncomfortably in his chair, "I went to reexamine his more personal areas last night to make sure I hadn't missed anythin' the first time, before I had known what had caused the bite marks. At first, everythin' was fine. I checked to make sure the area was properly cleaned and that there were no signs of infection, but… when I went to place some antibiotic cream on the area I got a response. His heart rate had rapidly increased to an almost dangerous level. I finished with the ointment as quick as possible, and then moved on to checkin' his prostate for any internal damage. I had to be swift with that exam as well… I was afraid he was going to code on me," he paused again to let out another long breath as he noticed Elizabeth's discomfort in their conversation, "If he reacts to that kind of physical touch in his unconscious state, I'm worried of how he will react when I have to examine him when he awakes," he stated as he stood from his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "I have to give him a very low dose of pain medication for the time being," he paused for a second when he saw the concern in Elizabeth's eyes, "I need to see how much strain will be on his heart when he is in a conscious state before I can even consider raisin' the dosage. Physically his heart is fine, but his emotional stress could cause a problem. The lower the pain medication is, the sooner he should wake up," he said reassuringly to let Elizabeth know that his actions were necessary.

"Is he in any pain now?" she asked, upset by the thought that John might be suffering.

"Accordin' to his pulse rate, I believe I have him on just enough medication to subdue most of the pain he's in. I wish I could tell ye that he isn't in any pain, but I'm afraid I can't. His injuries are no longer life threatenin', but they were severe," he paused to cup one of Elizabeth's hands with his own in a comforting manner, "When he does waken... He will probably be in a great deal of pain, but I'm hopin' I'll be able to raise his pain medication after his vital signs check out okay," he explained to her in an assuring tone as he patted the top of her hand.

She nodded in understanding and couldn't help but ask, "Can I see him?"

"Actually, I'm just about to check up on him. Ye can join me if ye like," he exclaimed with a comforting smile as he released her hand that was cupped between his. She merely nodded and followed Carson toward the privacy curtain that was wrapped halfway around John's hospital bed.

She let out a long anxious breath just before they approached the curtain. As soon as Carson pulled the privacy curtain back, Elizabeth couldn't help but draw back in a long breath at the sight of John. The bruises on his face were more profound, a slightly bloody bandage was covering the gash on his left temple, a tube was sticking down his throat to help him breathe, there were several vital signs monitors attached to him under the burgundy scrubs he was now wearing, and he lay unconscious and motionless on the hospital bed. She approached the side of his bed and cupped both of her hands around one of his. His hand felt so cold in between hers, and she studied his face disappointedly noticing how pale and tired he looked. She was, however, pleased to see how peaceful he looked. It didn't appear that he was in any pain, and that helped settle her nerves a bit. She slightly tightened her cupped hands around his to try and warm his cold and clammy one, while she watched Carson check all of his vitals. Carson looked so run down that his face was plain and unreadable. She couldn't tell if he was pleased or displeased with John's vital readings. "Has he improved any?" she asked, anxiously wanting to know how John was doing as she gave his hand another slight squeeze.

"His condition remains the same...," Carson paused, letting out a long exhausting breath. "I didn't expect him to heal over night... His injuries were too severe. At this moment, I would rather see no change in his condition rather than see his condition worsen. His vital signs are not top notch, but acceptable considerin' the condition he is in. It will take time for his body to heal, but he will mend," he informed her in a tired voice.

"How long do you think it will be until he wakes up?" Elizabeth asked as she brought her eyes back down to look at John's battered face.

"In the condition he's in…, there's no way of tellin' when that might be. It could be tomorrow.., or even a week from now. I'm hopin' his body will do some healin' before he does wake, so he won't be in so much pain. However... I do need him to wakeup soon, so I can do a more thorough exam of his private areas before infection sets in. I don't want to risk him codin' if I try checkin' those areas again while he's unconscious." Carson explained, followed by a long exhausting yawn.

Elizabeth nodded in understanding to his explanation as she looked down at John and then back up at Carson. "Has there been any word on McKay, Ford, or Teyla?" she asked, wondering if the search and rescue teams had found them while she was asleep.

"No, I'm afraid not. Sergeant Bates did inform me that there is still a great deal of ground to cover, so we shouldn't give up hope. However, I was very pleased when he informed me that one of the search teams did manage to bring back several of the fruits for study. I haven't had the chance to look at any of them yet, but I'm sure they're not goin' to grow legs and run," Carson chuckled out before yawning again. Elizabeth gave him a concerned look with his last statement, and could tell he was worn down and extremely exhausted.

"Doctor, I do believe it's your turn to get some rest. I can stay with him," she stated with a smile as she watched Carson yawn once again.

"Aye, lass! I think I will turn in for a bit. If ye need me, I'm just goin' to lie down on one of the unoccupied hospital beds in the other room. Don't hesitate to wake me if John's condition changes, okay?" Carson said softly with tears in his eyes from all the yawning. They both nodded and smiled at each other before he walked away and headed into the other room. Meanwhile, Elizabeth let go of John's hand and grabbed a near by stool to sit down beside John's still form. She recaptured his cold hand into hers and just watched the rise and fall of his chest with each breath he took. Waiting anxiously for his recovery.

**Chapter Fourteen "In Six Days"**

Six days have passed since Elizabeth last saw John smile. Six days have passed since John's battered body came charging through the stargate. Six days have passed since Elizabeth had watched the video that exposed the horrible torment John had endured. Six days had passed with every search and rescue team coming back empty handed as they looked for John's teammates. Six days that Carson and Elizabeth watched and worried over John's motionless form in the infirmary.

Within those six days, John's condition was gradually improving to Carson's satisfaction. Meanwhile, Elizabeth never left his side unless she was needed in the gate room. She even spent her nights asleep in a chair by his side, not wanting to miss the opportunity to be there when he wakes. The days seemed long with every passing hour, and the waiting suspense for him to wake was putting everyone on edge.

Carson was constantly busy studying the contaminated fruit in his lab, and continuously checking on John's condition every few hours. Elizabeth was starting to think the man never slept until she caught him slouched at his desk fast asleep a couple of times. She was amazed at how he managed to keep himself together as he ran back and forth between the infirmary and his lab. On the third day, she almost thought his busy motives had drove him completely mad as he came barging into the infirmary babbling frantically with gasping breaths.

He had startled Elizabeth as he came running into the room, garbling out words she couldn't understand through his heavy breathing. "Take it easy, Carson, and slow down! I can't understand a word you're saying!" Elizabeth exclaimed, and she placed her hand on Carson's back as he bent over to catch his breath before trying to speak again.

Carson straightened back up with his hands on his hips and began to speak more clearly, but at an excited pace that Elizabeth found almost unnerving. "I had a hypothesis about the effects of the fruit since I saw the video footage, and I confirmed that hypothesis the other day. The contaminant can only be transmitted by the slimy substance on the outer covering of the fruit. It can not be transmitted from one individual to the other, based on the evidence that John was not affected. He was the only one who did not touch the fruit, and he showed no sign of contamination after the others had made contact with him. Not even when they had sexual contact with him…" Carson said frantically, gesturing with his hands in an unexplainable excitement as he took in a long inhale to catch his breath.

"When was the last time you slept, Carson?" she paused to smile at him as he continued breathing heavily with his eyes wide with excitement, "And I don't see how this discovery of yours was exciting enough for you to cough up a lung in order for you to deliver this information to me so urgently," she exclaimed with another humored smile.

He pointed and shook an index finger in the air as he took another deep breath before speaking, "The slimy coverin' seems to act like a natural oil once it comes into contact with the skin, absorbin' itself into the pores. Once in the pores, it spreads throughout the body and on into the brain. It then causes an increase of hormone activity in the primitive portion of the brain, causin' hostile behavior. It also seems to drastically increase the sex drive!" he exclaimed as his breathing became more regular.

"And you found this out how...?" she asked, afraid he was going to say he infected himself based on his currently hyper state.

"Oh..., I allowed some of the slime to come in contact with one of our research mice. I observed it's behavior, and took some blood samples to find that it's hormone levels had sky rocketed!" Carson exclaimed, seeming very pleased with himself, and Elizabeth was pleased to hear he hadn't used himself for the experiment. She was, however, still confused as to what point he was trying to get across.

"That's fascinating, Doctor, but I still fail to see the importance!" she retorted with a confused expression directed at him.

"With further observation and tests, I discovered an amazin' irony about what the fruit does. The slimy outer coverin' is what causes the imbalance, but then I discovered after openin' the fruit that the inside has the opposite affect!" Carson exclaimed, smiling ear to ear with enthusiasm.

"I'm afraid I'm still not following," Elizabeth stated with confusion as she was not quite sure were he was heading with all this.

"I fed a piece of the fruit to the infected mouse! The contaminant is the contents on the outside of the fruit, whereas the cure is the contents on the inside of the fruit!" Carson said gleefully.

"What?" she asked in confusion to what he was saying.

Carson sighed and spoke a little slower, "What I'm tryin' to say is that all we have to do is have McKay, Ford, and Teyla eat some of the contents from inside the fruit and they should return back to their normal selves…" he explained, noticing that Elizabeth now understood what point he was trying to get across.

"That's great news!" she exclaimed, with her eyes now wide with excitement.

"Oh, and I already have everythin' set up for when the search party finally finds them. Several pieces of the fruit have thus been separated from their outer coverin'. I've even got a team workin' on a way to synthesis the antidote into an intramuscular injection, so that we can get the Major's team back to normal as soon as possible," Carson informed.

"Good work, Doctor!" she exclaimed and started to walk away. However, she turned back to speak again, "And, Carson…? Feel free to cough up another lung if you find out the search party found them!" she exclaimed with a smile, and he grinned back at her comment before he turned to leave the room.

She returned to John's side and held his hand as the day prolonged. It was, however, the third day that John appeared to look his worst as the bruises on his body had turned a dark purplish black. At one point, Carson even had his medical staff place some ice packs under John's arms and around his groin to try and bring down a high fever he had developed. He was worried that the sudden onset of the high fever could cause John's kidneys to shut down, and Elizabeth couldn't believe how hot to the touch he was whenever she rested her hand on his forehead. She tried to help by placing a damp cloth across his forehead and gently wiping his face with another to try and cool him. Both Carson and herself were very pleased to see that his temperature was finally starting to come down by late that evening, and that his vital signs were showing signs of improvement.

The fourth day, the search parties continued to return empty handed with still no sign of John's teammates. On the brighter side, Carson and Elizabeth remained at John's side and were very delighted to see that John's appearance was looking better. His fever was less intense and the bruises that covered about eighty percent of his body were still dark in color, but turning into a brownish yellow tint. They both knew he still had a long road to full recovery and that his injuries were still severe, but they couldn't help but indulge themselves in the direction he was headed. With everything that has happened, even the slightest improvement in John's well being was lifting their spirits.

Even though there was still no word of success from the search teams, it was the fifth day that showed the biggest signs of improvement for John. He no longer looked like a human punching bag as his bruises were fading, his side wound was healing with no signs of infection, his ribs were mending, the swelling of his penis had gone down enough for a catheter to be inserted, and Carson was able to remove the respirator tube from John's throat to let him breathe on his own. It was a day of high hopes, as John's condition was taking a positive road to recovery. It was, however, the sixth day that really got the whole city of Atlantis in a frenzy. Major John Sheppard woke up.

**Chapter Fifteen "The Sixth Day"**

Elizabeth was sitting patiently at his side, staring down at his hand that was resting in her own. She was thinking back to the day she had essentially asked John to join the Atlantis expedition, when they were still on Earth in Antarctica. She remembered his reluctance to come at first, and started to wish he had stuck to his initial decision as she gave his hand a slight squeeze. If she would have never asked him to come to Atlantis he would not be lying in the infirmary now, but then she couldn't imagine Atlantis without him either. He was an important part of this expedition, but most of all he had become a good friend that she grew accustomed to relying on when situations would arise that seemed disastrously unavoidable. She smiled at herself when she thought of how John would describe it as 'saving our asses'. She didn't know how she could face any future conflicts without having John's tactical skills and sense of humor at her side. He was the one person that made it possible for her to continue running this city with a strong hand, and she smiled again thinking back to the time John had stuck up for her against Colonel Everett. She thought that was the end of her command over the expedition when Everett came through the gate with orders from Colonel O'Neil that he was relieving her of command, but John stepped in and disobeyed a direct order for her. She never even got to thank him, not even for the time he saved her life when Koyla of the Genii held her captive. It was the day of that horrible storm that she started to suspect John had feelings for her. It was the day she discovered he would kill to protect her. He never had to verbally express his feelings for her to see it, and she suspects he tries hiding his feelings in fear of rejection. That she will not feel the same for him. She closed her eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek. She desperately wished she could rewind time and stop him from going through the gate six days ago, and that she could find the courage to tell him she had feelings for him as well. That her feelings go beyond the borderline of mere friendship.

At that very moment, she felt John's hand give a slight squeeze. Her eyes shot open immediately as she looked down to see John's hand clutching tightly to her own. A moan emitted from him, and she jerked up off the stool to look at his face. His head was slightly swaying back and forth on his pillow as he continued to moan, but his eyes remained closed. "John, can you hear me?" she asked with an excited and yet shaky voice as she brought her hand up to brush his hair back off his forehead. She kept her other hand in John's tightening grip as she watched his eyes begin to slowly open, and Elizabeth could feel a knot forming in her throat as she felt tears of joy replacing the ones of remorse.

His eyes were only half way open when they began to wonder around the room. "John…" she said softly, and he immediately fixed his eyes on her. She smiled and caressed her fingers through the hair on the top of his head. "Hey there," she paused and continued to smile at him, "How are you feeling?" she asked, not knowing what else to say. She could tell he was trying to say something, but nothing came out and he licked his dry chapped lips. "Would you like some water?" she asked. Not waiting for a response she reached for a glass of water on the table next to John's bed. She went to bring the glass of water to his lips, but he winced in pain through his tightly clenched teeth after trying to sit himself up. She felt his hand tighten around hers as his pain increased.

"Oh, God...!" John yelled out with a dry and scratchy voice. She tried to help him through the pain, but it would not seem to subside as he continued to cry out. One of the nurses on duty came running over at the sound of John's agony, and Elizabeth told her to get Carson immediately. John began whimpering in pain as tears started rolling down the sides of his face into his hair, and she did her best to comfort him through it as beads of perspiration formed on his brow. She could feel his body was quivering from the pain, and she began to shiver slightly herself; feeling helpless in having to watch him suffer.

It was only a few minutes later when Carson came running into the infirmary, with the nurse Elizabeth had sent not far behind. He approached the side of John's bed, opposite of Elizabeth, and placed his right hand on John's stomach with his left braced above John's head. "Take it easy, son!" Carson exclaimed as his hand caressed John's stomach to try and calm him. "John, I need ye to try and relax yer muscles for me, okay?" he said softly.

"I can't...!" John forced out hoarsely through gritted teeth.

"Yes ye can, lad! Just relax!" Carson exclaimed as he continued to caress John's stomach.

"It's okay," Elizabeth said softly as she began massaging her fingers through his hair.

"Oh, God...! It hurts...!" John cried out in pain as he grasped Carson's left bicep with his free hand for support.

"I know it hurts, John, but I need ye to relax yer muscles. I promise the pain won't be as bad if ye do. It's okay… Just relax! I know ye can do it!" Carson said in a calming tone as he brought his hand down from above John's head and rested it on his shoulder. Both Carson and Elizabeth could feel John slowly relaxing as his quivers decreased, and his out cries subsided to soft whimpers. "Shhh..., that's it! Ye're doin' great, John," Carson said softly as he and Elizabeth continued to comfort him.

"My chest hurts...," John quivered out as his muscles relaxed and his breathing hitched a couple of times.

"Just take some nice and easy breaths. Yer ribs are still pretty sore, so try and slow your breathin'," Carson said softly. He raised his hand from John's stomach to his chest to help ease his breathing as he gently rubbed his thumb back and forth over a number of his ribs. He could feel John's breath hitch a few times, but he eventually let out several slow quivering breaths until his breathing was more controlled. "That's it… Ye're doin' great, son. Nice and easy..." Carson said softly as he gave John a few apprizing pats on the shoulder. "I'm goin' to tilt the head of the bed so ye can sit up a bit, okay?" Carson informed him, and John just nodded in response since he was still trying to control his breathing. He winced in pain as his upper body was slowly tilted up. "It's good to see ye awake, Major. Ye had us all pretty worried there," Carson said softly. He rested his right hand just above John's right kneecap and was concerned when he noticed it caused John to flinch slightly, and then wince in pain. "How are ye feelin', son?" Carson asked, paying close attention to John's facial expressions and his slight trembles.

"Awful… Hurts everywhere…," John quivered out, as Elizabeth grabbed a small piece of cloth and started dabbing away some of the perspiration from his face. John flinched and tensed up abruptly, causing her to stop and exchange a concerned look with Carson.

"It's okay, John. I'm not going to hurt you," Elizabeth said softly as she brought the damp cloth back up to his forehead. He started to lean away, but fought back the insecurity he was feeling and allowed her to continue.

"Sorry…, the pain is just… making me a little jumpy," John quivered out with a scratchy voice, but Elizabeth knew there was more to it when she felt John tremble.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, John! Your safe now," Elizabeth said softly as she tried to make eye contact with him, but he wouldn't look up to meet her gaze. She almost swore he had a bashful and embarrassed expression on his face. She tried tilting his head back by putting some slight pressure on the damp cloth she was holding to his forehead to get a better look, but he resisted. He tensed up immediately and his trembling increased as he winced in pain. Then a sudden intake of air put him into a harsh coughing fit, causing him even more pain. Elizabeth brought her hand down from John's forehead and began caressing circles on his back, while she gave Carson a pleading look.

"Whoa…, take it easy, lad! I'm goin' to send a nurse to get some ice chips for yer throat," Carson paused to nod at the nurse that was still standing at the foot of the bed. The nurse understood and left immediately to get the ice chips.

"It hurts…," John said with a raspy voice, and grimaced a little in pain after swallowing.

"We had to put ye on a ventilator for a while to help you breathe. The tubes and the disuse of yer voice probably did a good number on yer throat, so it will probably be sore for a while. The ice chips should help ease most of the discomfort," Carson said with concern as he also felt John's trembling increase. "It's okay, son. It's just goin' to take a while for yer body to fully heal. Ye took quite a beatin'," he spoke softly as he brought his hand back up to caress John's stomach to try and comfort him.

"I don't suppose I could have some of that wonderful morphine of yours?" John asked as he continued to struggle through the pain.

Carson looked at the monitor to find John's heartbeat at a steady rate before saying, "I'll increase ye're pain meds a bit, but I'm sorry I can't give ye anymore than that until after I give ye a thorough exam..." Carson paused, seeing the discomfort in John's face. "It's okay, John. I just need ye to stay awake awhile, and then I'll increase yer morphine dose after everythin' checks out okay. I promise," he explained with an assuring tone. John still looked unsettled at the idea of having a physical exam, but he nodded his head okay and licked his dry chapped lips as Carson increased the drop rate on his meds. Elizabeth gave John's hand a slight squeeze, but then released and grabbed the cup of ice chips from the nurse who had returned.

"John, would you like an ice chip?" Elizabeth asked, holding the cup of ice chips out in front of him as her other hand rubbed back and forth over his shoulder blades for comfort. He nodded as she grabbed a single ice cube from the cup before setting it on the table next to his bed. She brought it up close to his lips and he pulled away slightly, but then allowed her to continue. "Let me get your lips wet, okay?" she said softly as she glided the ice cube across his chapped lips. She could still feel him trembling beneath her touch, and she gently slid the ice cube between his lips and into his mouth. She watched him struggle with his first couple of swallows causing him some slight pain as he moved the ice cube around in his mouth, but the pain eventually eased as he continued to swallow some more.

"Thanks…" John said with a less hoarse voice as he finally looked up to meet her gaze. She could feel his trembling ease down a little as he began to slowly relax.

"You're welcome," she exclaimed with a comforting smile as she reached down and placed her hand over his. She was pleased when he turned his hand over and interlocked their fingers together. She gave his hand a slight squeeze and smiled at him. He just gave a slight twitch with his mouth instead of his usual boyish smile, but she was glad to get something out of him. Even if it was just a twitch of the mouth. She knew it would take time for him to get back to being his old self again, but she was willing to wait.

**Chapter Sixteen "All Beginning To Sink In"**

Carson took his time checking over John's vital signs and the monitor readings, as he watched Elizabeth continuing to give John ice chips and comforting him as best she could. He was very worried about how John was going to deal with everything that had happened, and he wanted to give John a chance to calm down before he moved onto the physical part of the exam. He wondered whether or not he should question John about what had happened to him, but he was worried about how he would react. It seemed to be taking a while for John to settle down, and he didn't want to chance getting him all worked up again. Neither Elizabeth or himself have the proper training to deal with the psychological part of the situation, but they were the most qualified individuals on Atlantis that could help John through this since Heightmier was no longer among them.

Not wanting to prolong any longer, Carson approached John's bedside and placed his hand on John's right kneecap. He could still feel John trembling beneath his touch, and he could tell John was trying very hard to hide his discomfort. "How are ye doin', son?"

"I'm kind of cold," John said shyly, trying to use it as an excuse for his shaking. Carson gave a few warming rubs above John's kneecap, but stopped when he felt John's trembles slightly increase. He knew better than to think that John's shaking was caused by the cold.

"I'll have one of the nurses get ye some more blankets, but meanwhile…, I'd like to ask ye a few questions about what happened," Carson said softly in a comforting tone as he placed his other hand on John's right shoulder. He felt John flinch, but he kept his hand in place and looked up at Elizabeth. She looked back in understanding that he was going to ask John some personal questions.

"John, would it be easier on you if I left the room?" Elizabeth asked soothingly as she gave John's hand a slight squeeze.

"No…, you don't have to go. I… uh… don't think I'll be able to answer many questions. I… don't really remember a whole lot," John lied as he squirmed slightly in discomfort and licked his lips nervously.

"Can ye tell us what ye do remember?" Carson asked softly as he rubbed his thumb back and forth in a soothing manner, with the hand that was still resting on John's right shoulder.

"I… um…," John stuttered out followed by a long discomforting pause.

"It's okay… Take your time!" Elizabeth spoke as she rubbed her hand back and forth over his shoulder blades to try and comfort him. John nodded and let out a long quivering breath.

"Why don't ye start where ye first arrived on the planet?" Carson said encouragingly, trying to make it easier on John and to get him talking.

John seemed to relax a little when he thought back on how beautiful the scenery was after they arrived on the planet. "Uh… Well, the planet was actually quite breathtaking after we came through the gate. It was very colorful and peaceful," John paused as he let out another quivering breath. "McKay…" John's voice cracked slightly followed by a strained swallow.

"Take yer time, son," Carson said softly as Elizabeth gave John a comforting smile.

John cleared his throat to try and hide his discomfort before continuing. "He… He discovered what direction the energy signal was coming from, and we… pretty much assumed that's where the distress signal was coming from. So…, we walked in that direction for a long time and then took a rest at about the time that we could see… a large structural building a good distance ahead of us. I took first watch, and then fell asleep after… after Ford… relieved me," John paused with an exhausting sigh, "I don't remember anything after that…" John lied as he kept his eyes looking down at his lap to avoid looking at Carson or Elizabeth, while he nervously fidgeted with a string that was unraveling from his blanket.

Noticing John fidget, Carson exchanged a look with Elizabeth and nodded before speaking. "John," Carson paused, "We saw the video footage and…," he said softly but was cut off when John jerked his head up with his eyes open wide in panic. John had forgotten all about the recorder. He looked over at Elizabeth and then back at Carson before finding his voice.

"How much…," John's voice cracked as his breathing became rapid with anxiety.

"Everythin', son," Carson said calmly as he raised his hand from John's right kneecap to John's chest, and caressed his thumb back and forth to try and comfort him. He could see John's eyes were wide with confusion and panic as his trembling increased. He was worried John was going to hyperventilate as his breathing became irregular, and he heard the erratic beeps the heart monitor was giving off. "Take it easy, son," Carson said softly as he continued to try and comfort him.

"Oh, God…! Oh my God…!" John breathed out heavily with panic as his eyes filled with tears. It was all beginning to sink in, like a big wave had suddenly crashed down on him. He felt like he was drowning. He didn't know which was worse, what had happened to him or that they saw what had happened to him. He desperately wished that the recording device had occurred to him earlier, and that he had destroyed it before he left the planet.

"John…, it's okay," Elizabeth practically whispered as she gave his hand a slight squeeze and began rubbing her other hand up and down his left arm to try and calm him. John just closed his eyes and tucked his chin down to try and hide the tears that were starting to stream down his face.

Carson noticed the tears and slid his hand down from John's chest to his stomach. He rubbed his hand back and forth to try and comfort him as he spoke, "John, please… Don't be embarrassed. Myself and Elizabeth are the only ones that saw the video, and no one else has to. Not without yer consent!" Carson sighed with a pause as tears continued to stream down John's face, "What happened to ye is somethin' no one should ever have to go through. Ye have nothin' to be ashamed of, lad," Carson said softly and then gave John's right shoulder a friendly squeeze.

John shook his head back and forth in denial as his breath began to hitch. He swallowed hard and tried to hold back the sobs, but the strain was too much. He let go of Elizabeth's hand and draped his left arm over his eyes to hide the tears as he laid his head back on his pillow.

"Just take it easy, son," Carson said softly as he continued to caress John's stomach.

"It's going to be all right, John," Elizabeth spoke in a comforting tone as she began stroking John's hair back off his forehead. She could feel him shaking as his breathing hitched, and a few sobs escaped his lips. She wrapped her hands under both of his sides and started pulling his upper body up off the bed. He shook his head in protest as he removed his arm that was shielding his dampened eyes, but she continued to pull him into a comforting hug. She could feel him trembling, and drew him up close against her. He willingly buried his face into the right side of her neck as he wrapped his arms around her and held on as if his life depended on it. He was too exhausted to fight it any longer as he began to sob uncontrollably, and she tightened their embrace. "Shhh…," she gently soothed as she rubbed her right hand up and down his back to comfort him. She then slid her left hand up to the back of his head, and caressed her fingers through his hair. She could feel John shaking in her arms and the tears began to form in her own eyes. She knew she needed to be strong, so she tightened her grip on him and began rocking him back and forth. The hot air from his breath mixed with his tears was giving her goose bumps. She could even feel John's heartbeat in his chest as it was pressed closely to hers. It was almost soothing as each beat assured her that he was alive. She closed her eyes and rested her right cheek down on John's head as she continued to rock him in her arms.

**TBC…**

* * *

I hope you are looking forward to Part Three! Before you do, please feed the Beast by leaving a review! It's what fuels me as my substitute for carbohydrates! However, it could never replace chocolate and caffeine! Then again, an awesome review just might prove me wrong (Giggles!)! 


	3. Part Three

I sadly do not have a Beta Reader, so all mistakes are my own!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Stargate Atlantis or any of it's characters!

**Inhuman Part Three**  
Author: Maggie K. M.  
Characters: Aiden Ford, Carson Beckett, Elizabeth Weir, John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Zelenka  
Pairings: Sheppard/Weir  
Genres: General, Action & Adventure, Angst, Drama, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance  
Rating: M  
Warnings: Abuse, Language, Rape, Torture, Violence  
Summary: Sheppard enters the event horizon after giving Elizabeth his usual boyish smile. She smiles back, not knowing that may be the last time she will see him smile.

Before reading any further, make sure you read Inhuman Part One and Part Two!

**Chapter Seventeen "Fallen Asleep"**

It was late in the evening, and several hours had passed before Elizabeth noticed that John had finally fallen asleep in her arms. Slightly alarmed, she stopped rocking him and glanced over toward the heart monitor only to find that his vitals were stable. Relieved, she let out a long sigh and kept him closely held up against her. Feeling his breathing had evened out and that he was no longer trembling she eased his upper body back on the bed and rested his head back on his pillow. He mumbled a few incoherent words, and she couldn't help but think of how adorable it was while she pulled the blankets further up his chest. She was amazed at how young and peaceful his face appeared in his slumber as she gently readjusted a few stray hairs back off his forehead, but then she was suddenly startled when Carson placed his hand lightly on her left shoulder. Glancing up to see a comforting smile on his face, she felt slightly embarrassed that she had forgotten he was even in the room.

"Is he all right?" she asked in a whisper as she turned her gaze from Carson to the heart monitor.

"Aye, lass. He's just asleep," Carson whispered back in a comforting tone, only to yawn a few seconds later.

"I think it's time you got some rest yourself, Doctor!" she whispered to him with a smile.

"I could say the same for ye, lass," he said with a yawn, but quiet enough not to disturb John's slumber.

"Actually… I'd really like to stay with him a while, if that's okay?" she pleaded with a whisper. Carson responded with a doubtful look, but she persisted. "Please?" she added with a smile, followed with a pouted bottom lip.

"All right, lass…," he sighed, "I'll lie down for a wee bit, but then I'll insist ye get some well needed rest while I take watch." he stated with a stern but friendly tone. Elizabeth merely nodded in agreement with a smile of triumph spread across her face. "Ye know… Ye drive a hard bargain, lassie," he whispered as he began walking around the bed yawning. She gave a smirked smile in response, while he shook his head and smiled just before disappearing behind the privacy curtain that was halfway pulled around John's bed.

Once she was certain Carson had left, she couldn't resist brushing a few more strands of John's hair back from his face and placing a light kiss on his forehead. She couldn't help but notice his forehead felt slightly warm and feverish and attempted to bundle his blanket further around him. She knew it was probably do to the kidney poisoning in his system. Carson had informed her earlier that his urine had backed up into his system before they could get a catheter inserted. He was too swollen at the time. After looking up and down his battered body, she sadly realized that there is a long list of injuries that could be causing his fever. She felt so frustrated that she couldn't make it all go away. Fussing with his blankets a little more, she let out a long sigh and allowed her mind to wonder. She thought back to John crying in her arms, and tears began to burn in her eyes. She had never seen John so fragile before, and her heart ached to see him in such pain. She wished she could have done more than hold him. She wished she could rewind time for him.

Elizabeth lingered over him a while longer before finally pulling a chair close to his bedside. She situated herself in a comfortable position and cupped one of his hands in her own as she watched over his sleeping form. Her mind continued to wonder for several hours before she finally dozed off.

Carson came back around the privacy curtain, wiping sleep from his eyes, and came to a halt at the end of John's bed when he noticed Elizabeth had fallen fast asleep in a chair with John's hand in hers. Smiling at the scene before him he quietly pushed the privacy curtain all the way back against the wall, revealing the occupants inside to the rest of the infirmary. He then walked over to the bed next to John's only to return with a blanket, and he gently draped it over Elizabeth without waking her. She just looked too relaxed and peaceful for him to disturb, so he walked around to the other side of the bed to check John's vitals. Not wanting to wake him either, he just did a quick check of the monitor readouts. Satisfied with John's readings, he took one last look at his sleeping friends before heading towards his office.

Deciding that it would be best not to leave John unattended, he grabbed John's progress reports from the past six days and settled himself two beds over from John's. He got as comfortable as humanly possible in the hospital bed and spread the reports out in front of him as he sat with his legs tucked and crossed. Looking over each report from the beginning, he was pleased to see that John's physical recovery was very promising. He just hoped John's mental and emotional recovery will do just as well.

**Chapter Eighteen "Nightmare"**

Elizabeth didn't know when she had dozed off, but she woke to find someone had draped a blanket over her. She wasn't sure where the blanket came from or what had woke her until she heard a strange gurgling noise coming from behind her. She turned herself around in the chair and smiled when she saw Carson two beds over from John's, sound asleep and snoring. Knowing very well that Carson was more than likely the one who draped the blanket over her, she walked over and returned the favor. She couldn't help but smile at the scene before her. Carson was asleep on his back and snoring softly enough not to disturb John, but apparently load enough to have woke her. She slightly giggled when she noticed his left leg was bent and tucked under his right, which was laying straight, with several progress reports laying around it toward the bottom of the bed. He even had a couple of progress reports tucked under his left arm, which was draped over his chest, while his right arm rested at his side. She found the scene before her very amusing and would have continued her observation of him, but a soft whimpering sound coming from John's bed caught her attention.

She was at John's side in a matter of seconds and noticed right off what was wrong. He was having some kind of dream, and from the distress she could see in his face it was a nightmare. She reached up a placed her right hand over his forehead and felt that it was very warm with a slight tinge of sweat. She became worried as he began to toss and turn, with his head lolling back and forth. He began to mumble and she tried to understand what he was saying, but it was too incoherent.

"John!" she exclaimed as she tried to gently shake him awake, but there was no response.

His breathing became harsh and raspy, and worry turned to fear when she heard the heart monitor begin to beep at an accelerated rate. Not wasting any time she called for Carson.

"Carson!" she yelled, and immediately heard the sound of a bed shift behind her.

Carson shot right out of bed to the sound of someone calling his name, and it took him a minute to gather himself but he immediately pulled himself together once he looked to his right to see what the commotion was all about. He headed straight to the other side of John's bed swiftly and looked over John's monitor readings before taking action.

"Carson, he's having some sort of nightmare! I can't seem to wake him!" she exclaimed with no effort of hiding the worry in her tone.

"His heart rate is increasin', and I'm not likin' the way he's breathin'," Carson stated as he was listening to John's chest with his stethoscope. "We need to wake him!" he exclaimed as he put his stethoscope back around his neck. "John," he addressed as he gently shook John's right shoulder, "Lad, ye need to wake up." He tried to shake John more forcefully, but there was still no success in waking him.

"John, please… Wakeup!" Elizabeth pleaded as she brushed his sweat drenched hair back off his forehead. John's mumbling turned to soft whimpers, and she wanted to cry at that very moment. She new he was reliving what had happened to him, and it pained her to see him like this. She wished she could enter his nightmare to save him and comfort him, but at this moment all she could do was hope that he would wake.

"John, ye have to wake up!" Carson sternly exclaimed with worry in his tone. He was afraid if John's vital signs went any higher he would go into cardiac arrest. "Come on, son! Open those eyes for me!" Carson exclaimed as he tried grinding his knuckles into John's upper chest to get a response, but with no success. Then John's whimpers suddenly turned into coherent words.

"Please…, don't… don't hurt me? Don't do this!" John begged as he began to thrash violently. Both Elizabeth and Carson tried to hold him down enough to where he wouldn't hurt himself, and eventually John began to whimper again only louder than before.

"Carson," Elizabeth pleaded as she locked eyes with him.

Carson saw the tears streaming down her face, but dismissed them as he turned his gaze back to John and began tapping the sides of John's face to try and wake him. "John," he addressed again. Still getting no response, Carson let out a sigh of frustration as he turned to his last resort. He pulled his hand back to slap John across the face, but as if on cue John shot up into a seated position on the bed breathing heavily and wincing in pain from the sudden movement.

"It's okay, John. You're safe… It was just a bad dream," Elizabeth cooed as she massaged her right hand through the hair on the back of his head. She used her left hand to quickly wipe away the trail of tears that were staining her cheeks before prying John's left hand from gripping the sheets. Once she managed to get the blanket out of his tightly clenched grip she embraced his hand in hers. She could feel him trembling and squeezed his hand a little tighter to try and help him feel safe and secure.

"Take it easy, lad," Carson spoke softly as he rubbed soothing circular motions with his left hand on Johns lower back. He then grabbed onto John's right bicep with his other hand to try and comfort him, only to become sadly aware of the strong tremors running through him. He then gently placed an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth to help him breathe easier, but John still seemed to be struggling to catch his breath. "Just take nice slow breaths, son," he instructed, noticing that his breathing was still pretty heavy. John kept pretty quiet and didn't say anything, but he did as Carson instructed and managed to get his breathing under control. "That's it, nice and easy," Carson said softly as he slowly eased John back against the bed.

"You're doing great, John," Elizabeth cooed as she helped Carson get John situated back in bed.

Once they had him laying back down and the blankets resituated, she couldn't help but notice how quite John was being. "John, are you all right?" she asked as she fiddled with some stray hairs that where springing overtop his forehead. He seemed distant and didn't respond, so she looked to Carson for answers.

"He's just a wee bit sluggish right now from just wakin' up, but he's okay. I'm goin' to give him somethin' to help him go back to sleep," Carson stated as he began injecting some solution into John's IV.

"It's okay, John. You can go back to sleep." Elizabeth whispered to him, but his eyes where closing before she even finished.

She kept hold of his hand and continued caressing his hair back off his forehead, while Carson was checking over all his vital signs to make sure everything was okay. It didn't take long for John to be sound asleep again, and she was amazed on how quickly his breathing evened out as she watched the rise and fall of his chest. She felt like she could get used to the view and must have spaced out for a few moments, because she was suddenly startled by a hand on her shoulder. She looked to see Carson standing beside her with a comforting smile on his face, and she felt slightly confused with not having any recollection of him walking around the bed to stand beside her. She felt herself blush, realizing how intimately close she was being toward John in front of Carson.

Carson noticed the slight redness to her pale cheeks but didn't have the heart to comment on it. He knew that both her and John had feelings for each other, but whether or not they knew how the other felt was unknown. He didn't feel it was his place to let them know that they felt the same way about each other, and figures that someday they'll find out on their own. "I think it's about time ye go and get rested, and I don't mean in a chair beside John!" he exclaimed with a smile as he noticed the redness in her cheeks became a little more pronounced.

She felt herself blush even more from his comment and went to open her mouth to protest, but Carson beat her to it. "No arguments, lass. I'll let ye know immediately if there's any change in the Major's condition. Now off with ye," Carson stated with a stern yet playful tone.

Without a word, Elizabeth just smiled at Carson and nodded. She knew she'd been beat, and tried to keep her dignity without a fuss. She glanced back down at John once more to find him in a peaceful sleep and gave his hand one last squeeze before turning to leave. However, she couldn't suppress the smile that escaped her lips when she noticed Carson take up residence in the chair she was using to watch over John. She then turned and left feeling at ease, knowing that John was in very good hands.

**Chapter Nineteen "Possibilities"**

Before going to her quarters she decided to stop by the control room to check on the progress of the search and rescue teams. Not far from the main consol, she noticed Sergeant Bates and Dr. Zelenka were in a slightly heated argument. Feeling out of the loop, she interrupted. "What have I missed?" she asked in her usual professional manner. She could visually see Zelenka sigh in relief as if he were saved by the bell with her being there, and so she turned her attention to Bates.

"Dr. Weir," Bates addressed as he stood at attention and gave an annoying glance toward Zelenka before continuing. "We were just discussing the possibility that Major Shepard's team may have gated to another location before any of our search teams arrived," he said in a mono tone voice.

Realizing this was a big possibility she turned to Dr. Zelenka, only to find him shaking his head. "No, I already checked the readouts on the DHD and it doesn't show any gate activation between the time that Major Shepard returned and your first search and rescue team's arrival. It's not possible!" Zelenka explained in his usual manner of using his hands to help express himself and get his point across.

Elizabeth nodded in understanding and then turned back to Bates to see him shaking his head in frustration. "What's our progress?" she asked, causing him to focus his attention on the matter at hand.

"We've covered over half of the planet, and there is still no sign of them. I don't see how they could still be on the planet!" Bates exclaimed, and gave Zelenka another annoyed glance. "They had to have dialed out to another location," he stated firmly.

"No! It's not possible! Besides, you still have quite a bit of ground to cover!" Zelenka objected defensively.

"That's beside the point! We should have found them by now if they were still on the planet!" Bates stated with a slightly raised voice.

Seeing the tension forming between the two, Elizabeth intervened. "Gentlemen!" she addressed with a commanding tone, causing both men to stop arguing and face her. Seeing that she had their attention, she continued. "I'm sure your both very tired," she paused and looked at both men to see they suddenly appeared ashamed by their abrupt behavior toward one another, "I suggest you both get some well needed rest so you can start fresh in the morning. Understood?" she ordered.

"Yes, Ma'am, but we still have some teams off world. I need to be here if anything comes up," Bates addressed.

"Then have someone relieve you Sergeant, and have them notify you if anything turns up." she stated with a smile, knowing that Bates would rather be a part of the rescue operation than take a break. "And have them notify me as well!" she exclaimed with a smirk, feeling the need to address the matter.

"Yes, Ma'am," Bates responded in defeat as he nodded, but he didn't seem happy about the decision of leaving the situation in someone else's hands. Even if it were for a short period of time.

"Now, in the morning…," she sighed with a pause and turned toward Zelenka, "I'm sure your calculations are correct, but I'd like you to check once more to make sure it isn't possible that they gated to another planet. Just to be on the safe side," she calmly ordered with a smile.

"Of course, Dr. Weir," Zelenka responded with a smile as he always aimed to please her.

"Good! Now, I want both of you to get some rest," she said with a sigh followed by a small yawn. "Oh, dear! Pardon me?" she exclaimed bashfully.

"With all do respect, Ma'am, I think you need to get some well needed rest yourself." Bates proclaimed with mischief written on his face.

"Don't worry, Sergeant, I've been ordered by the highest authority to get some rest." she insinuated with a smirk and gracefully walked away to head for her quarters to do just that. Both Bates and Zelenka turned toward each other and smiled, knowing that the highest authority she was referring to had to be none other than Dr. Carson Beckett.

**Chapter Twenty "Battling The Voices In My Head"**

It was early in the morning when Elizabeth came strolling out of her quarters from what felt like a restless night. She knew she had got some sleep, and yet she felt so tired and drained. The first place she wanted to head towards was the infirmary to check on John, but with a heavy sigh, she knew she needed to check in at the control room first to keep her professional appearance in tact. Walking at a rapid pace, she kept having to convince herself that Carson would have contacted her if there was any change in John's condition. Feeling flustered she quickened her pace, realizing she was having a hard time battling with the voices in her head. She saw the corridor leading to the infirmary not far up ahead, but knew she needed to keep going straight if she wanted to make it to the control room. One voice was telling her that her priority was John and that he needed her now more than ever, while the other voice in her head was telling her that John may be important but she can't dismiss her responsibilities to Atlantis. She wanted to scream, but she knew that wouldn't help the pounding headache that was creeping in just above her right temple. She regretfully reminded herself that John was in the very capable hands of Carson, and that she needed to tend to her duties before visiting John. With that in mind, she continued her approach toward the control room after passing the corridor that leads to the infirmary. She couldn't help but give a heavy sigh in frustration for passing the corridor she would have preferred. The corridor that led to John.

Coming up the main steps to the control room, she was relieved to see Sergeant Bates and Dr. Zelenka were not bickering. She was already in a cruddy mood and didn't feel up to putting them back in their places like she did last night.

She approached them cautiously, hoping she wouldn't regret not going to the infirmary any more than she already did. "Please tell me you have some good news for me Sergeant?" she asked, not meaning for it to come out as gloomy as it did.

Bates noticed the despair in her tone, but quickly dismissed it and got down to business. "I'm afraid not, Ma'am. We haven't ran across any sign of them yet, and as Dr. Zelenka so kindly pointed out last night, we still have ground to cover." Bates stated, while giving a quick glance at Zelenka.

"Keep me informed," she responded to Bates with a nod and hoped her disappointment wasn't showing through. "Dr. Zelenka!" she addressed as she turned and faced him. "Any change with your results on the DHD?" she asked, hoping he could shine some light on the whereabouts of Shepard's team.

"No, the readings are coming up the same as before. There is no sign of gate activation between the time that Major Shepard returned and the arrival of our first rescue team to the planet." Zelenka informed, without letting Elizabeth's disappointed expression go unnoticed. "I am sorry, Dr. Weir. I know you would have liked some answers to their whereabouts," he sighed and lowered his gaze to the closed laptop in his hands.

"It's all right…," she sighed, "I'm sure they'll turn up soon." she stated as she forced herself to have a more cheerful tone. She was pleased to see Zelenka raise his gaze back up to her and smile with a nod of understanding. She then turned her attention back to Sergeant Bates. "Sergeant, how much more ground is there left to cover?" she asked, hoping that they were getting close to closing in on their position.

Bates watched Zelenka walk away before coming to attention and answering, "We've managed to cover three quarters of the planet, Ma'am."

"That's it!" she exclaimed sharply, noticing the Sergeants eyes widen slightly in surprise. She even felt a bit confused herself by her reaction, but couldn't seem to cover up her frustration to the progress they had made.

Bates was a little taken back by her sudden tone, but kept things professional, "It's a large planet, Ma'am, and we are trying to be as thorough as possible. We don't want to take a chance of passing them up, and having only so many available men at hand is causing things to go a little slower than we expected. Especially since Dr. Beckett informed us not to rely on the Ancient Life-signs Detector. He said he couldn't be sure if the device would pick up on their readings," he stopped but then decided to continue after seeing the disappointment on Elizabeth's face, "We have managed to pick up some volunteers from the Athosians on the Mainland, which should help speed things up. The larger our search parties, the more ground we can cover at a faster pace." he said in relief, hoping to give Elizabeth some hope.

"That's good to hear, Sergeant…," she sighed with a more brightened expression, "See if you can recruit some more volunteers, and let me know the moment anything turns up. I'll be in the infirmary if you need me." she calmly informed before they both parted ways and she headed back down the stairs. She wanted to kick herself for having overreacted toward the Sergeant. The voices in her head were screaming at her for falling apart like that. She reminded herself that 'I'm Dr. Elizabeth Weir! I have settled disputes among a dozen countries! I'm not supposed to be the one who starts one and falls apart!' She knew that Sergeant Bates and the search teams were doing the best they could. She just wished everything would go back to normal. That this was all some horrible dream she would wake up from to find John relaxing in the mess hall with a turkey sandwich, Rodney in his lab telling everyone how insignificant they were, Ford on the lookout for a new gadget to name, and Teyla in the gym training. Elizabeth could feel the tears burning in her eye's at the memory of how things used to be. She shrugged off the need to cry as she continued to walk. She new that things may never be the same again, but she hoped that one day it would be close or perhaps even better than before. Maybe this incident would draw them closer to one another, but she new it was empty speculation. She felt a tear escape down her cheek, but wiped it away swiftly with annoyance. "Pull yourself together!" she told herself out loud as she rounded the corner. She decided to put the incident behind, and found herself feeling a whole lot better just knowing that she was now walking down the corridor that led to the infirmary that she had regretfully passed earlier. She was excited about seeing John, but nervous as well. She knew Carson has yet to examine John in his wakened state, and she was worried about how things would pan out. She almost felt the urge to turn around when she noticed she had finally reached the entrance to the infirmary, but she let out a long exhausting breath and pushed onward. Knowing that John needed her now more than ever.

**Chapter Twenty One "Mystery Woman"**

John woke to a mixture of sounds that seemed to fade in and out. He tried straining to hear the sounds more clearly, but he was having trouble focusing. He wasn't even sure where he was until he slowly became aware of the pain that was throbbing up and down his entire body, and he suddenly wanted to welcome back the darkness. However, his body protested against going back to sleep as the pain throughout his body increased. He went to open his eyes, but found his eyelids to be extremely heavy and managed to only open them halfway. Things were blurry at first, but the ceiling to the infirmary gradually came into focus. He would have cursed at the sight if it weren't for the dryness of his throat, so he settled for a disgusted sigh. Still feeling pretty groggy, he just laid there for awhile and tried to identify where the sounds where coming from. The closest sound was the soothing sound of the heart monitor off to his right, but the other sound seemed more distant and fuzzy. He waited a while longer for his head to clear up some more, and the sounds eventually became more clear. Then he realized they weren't just sounds, they were voices. Two voices! He was able to tell right away that one of the voices belonged to Dr. Beckett, but the other voice was female and he couldn't seem to recognize it. He considered it could possibly be one of the female nurses, but his head still felt a little groggy for him to be sure. He tried lifting his head to see who it was, but found the action to be a mistake as a sharp pain shot through him as soon as he flexed the muscles in his neck. Instead, he decided to lie there and wait until he regained his strength while continuing to listen to the conversation between Carson and the mystery woman.

"I'm surprised he hasn't woke up yet. I was really worried about him last night after his nightmare…," she paused, "Are you sure he's all right?" the mystery woman asked with true concern in her voice, which threw John for a loop. He didn't recall having any nightmare. Even more mind blowing, he wondered who would be so concerned for his well-being. More interestingly, he wondered what female would.

"He's been through a great deal, lass. His body is exhausted and it's goin' to take some time for his body to heal," Carson paused with a sigh, "As for the nightmare, I don't think that will be the last." Carson sadly informed.

'What nightmare?' John repeated in his head with frustration. John was really getting confused now. He started to wonder whether or not they were even talking about him until the mystery woman spoke up again.

"Do you plan on giving him a physical exam when he wakes?" she paused with a sigh, "I understand that it's going to take time for John to heal, but how are we going to approach it psychologically?" the mystery woman asked, and the mention of his name assured John that it was him they were discussing, which didn't help him with his confusion. He also made sure to leave a mental note to himself to try and avoid the physical exam at all costs. It was, however, the next statement that threw him for a loop.

"Unfortunately…, I am goin' to have to give him a physical exam when he wakes. I'm not sure how John will react, but I'm hoping that whatever reactions he has will give us some level of understanding on how he's going to handle everything that's happened," he sighed before continuing, "I'm not goin' to lie to you, Elizabeth…" Carson was saying, but John didn't get to hear the rest after the name of the mystery woman was revealed to him.

Letting the realization that Elizabeth was the mystery woman sink in, it allowed a sequence of memories to come colliding into perspective. He suddenly vaguely remembered that he had woken up twice before this. That this wasn't his first time waking up since he returned from the planet, and the memories came flooding back. He remembered waking up to a great deal of pain and both Carson and Elizabeth were there. He then remembered talking to them, and he suddenly felt like he needed to panic. 'Oh my God,' he thought in his head as fear rose up from within. He remembered them saying they saw everything that happened from the recording device on his vest, and once again he cursed in his head for not thinking to destroy it before leaving the planet. Then the rest became slightly fuzzy as he remembered Elizabeth rocking him back and forth in a soothing embrace, and then everything was even more disorienting as he vaguely remembered waking up again in a panic with Elizabeth and Carson being present again. He wondered if that was the nightmare they had referred to, but he couldn't remember exactly what happened in the dream. Just bits and pieces, but he did have a slight notion that it had to do with what happened to him on the planet. He felt himself tremble at the thought of it, which rewarded him with some more unwanted pain. It was the pain that brought him back to the present and away from his thoughts, and he heard the conversation between Carson and Elizabeth once again. Not waiting to hear what they were saying, he tried getting their attention.

**Chapter Twenty Two "Dignity"**

Carson was in the middle of explaining to Elizabeth the possible treatments they could use to help John with his psychological scaring, when he heard John call for him in a low hoarse voice.

"Doc…" John croaked out as he felt the slight stinging sensation it caused his dry throat.

Both Carson and Elizabeth were at his side within seconds. "How are ye feelin', son?" Carson asked him with concern as he leaned over to check John's visual responses. Carson shined his penlight into each of John's eyes as swiftly as possible, and was pleased to see his pupils dilate accordingly. John winced slightly to the sudden brightness, but was thankful it was gone no sooner than it was there.

"I've been better," John answered truthfully with a scratchy voice.

"Aye…Ye goin' to feel pretty sore for a while, but it should improve once we're able to get ye started on your physical therapy." Carson informed, just before placing his stethoscope in position to listen to John's chest. John flinched abruptly when the end of the stethoscope came into contact with his skin.

"Sorry…," John paused, "It's cold," he explained as he nodded toward the stethoscope, but Carson was wondering whether or not that was the true reason he flinched. Not wanting to push the issue, Carson merely smiled and rubbed the end of his stethoscope against his lab coat to warm it before placing it back on John's chest. He didn't feel John flinch this time, but he could feel how tense John was from holding it in.

"Hey there!" Elizabeth paused with a smile. "You sure slept in," she teased, drawing John's attention away from Carson's prodding. She could tell John was struggling with the physical contact through the trembling she felt in his hand. She wanted to make his fear go away, but she knew it was going to take time. The only thing she could do for now was be there for him, so she gave his hand a slight squeeze to try and help him feel more secure.

"Actually… I feel like I could sleep some more," John paused as he contemplated whether or not he just said that out loud, "I feel so tired…" he continued with a confused expression but was suddenly interrupted.

"All right, lad, I need ye to take some slow deep breaths for me," Carson instructed as he moved his stethoscope in multiple places on John's chest. Carson could feel John trembling through the end of his stethoscope and was deeply concerned, but felt that it could wait to be addressed until a later time. He didn't feel it was pertinent to make John feel any more uncomfortable than he already appeared to be, and continued listening to his heart and lungs.

John did as Carson instructed, but the deep breaths caused him to wince slightly in pain. He suddenly realized that along with the rest of his body his ribs were still pretty sore, and squeezed Elizabeth's hand as he forced himself to take a couple more deep breaths.

"John, are you all right?" Elizabeth asked in alarm as she watched him wince in pain. She felt him squeeze her hand and did so in return as she waited for him to respond.

"I'm okay… It just hurts a little…" John croaked out with a shaky breath as he watched Carson finish up and place his stethoscope back around his neck. Elizabeth smiled down at John, knowing that he would never let on to how much pain he was really in.

"Let me sit ye up a bit," Carson gestured as he levered the top of John's bed into the Fowler's position (sixty degrees). The movement caused John some slight pain, but it didn't last long once he was in the semi-sitting position.

"Is that better?" Elizabeth asked with a smile as she noticed the slight relief on John's face.

"Yeah… Thanks," John managed to get out with a horse voice.

"It's not a problem, son, and let me get ye some ice chips for that throat of yers," Carson said cheerfully. "I'll be back in just a bit, so don't go noddin' off on me," he joked as he patted John on his right arm. He noticed John flinch immediately to the sudden touch, but dared not comment on it. He could tell John seemed slightly embarrassed by it, but Carson wasn't sure on how to convince John he was safe and that he had nothing to be ashamed of without making him feel more uncomfortable. Pasting on a comforting smile, Carson turned and left to fetch a cup of ice chips.

As soon as Carson was out of range, John took it as an opportunity to address something to Elizabeth that was bothering him. He looked up at her to find her smiling at him, but he could also see how worn down and tired she appeared no matter how hard she was trying to hide it behind her hypnotic smile. He never noticed how great of a smile she had before, and wouldn't mind seeing her smile more often. It was her beautiful eyes however that gave away how worn down she was. He primarily blamed himself for it, and sometimes wished she wouldn't worry about him so much. He wondered if she worried this much about all her friends, or was it just him. Sighing to himself, he knew it was just his silly wishful thinking and continued looking through her pained eyes in random thought. He didn't even realize he was staring so intently at her eyes until Elizabeth broke his train of thought.

"Is my mascara running?" she nervously asked as she tried wiping away any evidence that she had been crying an awful lot lately. She didn't want John to know she was practically falling apart having to see him in such a fragile state.

"No…, I was just thinking. Sorry…," John paused with a long sigh, "I didn't mean to… stare," he quietly spoke, feeling slightly embarrassed that she caught him staring.

Elizabeth could see he was embarrassed and tried to make him more comfortable by pulling his blankets further around his waist. John immediately jumped in response to her actions, causing her to withdraw her hands immediately. She could have kicked herself! She knew what John had been through, and should have known he would have reacted to that kind of physical contact.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to… I won't hurt you, John," she assured him as she went back to holding his hand. She felt guilty when she noticed his tremors had slightly increased.

"I know…" he whispered in response, but avoided looking her in the face. He felt flustered. He wasn't afraid of Elizabeth and yet he couldn't stop himself from reacting the way he did.

Elizabeth could see the conflicting emotions playing out on his face and it pained her to see him trying to battle it out on his own. The most noticeable ones she could read were frustration and shame, but she was at least relieved not to see any of the fear she saw in him last night when he woke from his nightmare. She felt a slight shiver at the thought of what probably went on in his nightmare, and hoped for his sake that he's one of those lucky individuals that don't remember what they dream. She then felt a slight tinge of hope as she chanced brushing some of his hair back off his forehead and was pleased to see he didn't flinch away. "It's okay…" she cooed with a short pause, "You want to talk about it?" she asked, hoping he might be willing to open up.

John shook his head 'no' and decided to change the subject by getting something off his chest before Carson returned, "I… um… I wanted to apologize… for falling apart on you last night. I don't know what came over me… I guess I was just… really tired!" he said shyly as he shifted a couple of times in the bed. He didn't remember all the details of what happened, but he distinctly remembered her holding him while he cried. He felt so ashamed for appearing so fragile and weak in front of her, and hoped the 'really tired' comment would give him back his masculine dignity. However, Elizabeth was surprised by his statement as she watched him fidget nervously in the bed. She couldn't believe he was apologizing for allowing himself to be human.

"John…, look at me?" she kindly asked, but he kept his gaze on the blankets over his lap. "Please, look at me?" she pleaded, and was pleased when he slowly glanced up at her and managed to hold it. "You have nothing to be sorry for, okay? You've been through a traumatic experience, and I'm here for you when you're ready to talk. Even if you just need to borrow my shoulder to cry on, okay?" she offered with a sincerely comforting tone. She could feel the heartfelt tears forming in her eyes, and see the ones that were forming in his. At that very instant she had the urge to reach out and hold him, but knew he needed more time before she could do something so bold.

"Thanks… I'll remember that…" John whispered with a shaky breath. He noticed right away that his acceptance to her offer had earned him one of her hypnotic smiles, and he decided to throw away his insecurity to mention that she should express it more often. But… as if cupid missed by shooting him in the ass instead of the heart, Carson returned on cue with the cup of ice chips before John could get it out.

**Chapter Twenty Three "The Upper Exam"**

Elizabeth could tell that John was going to say more, but Carson's return redirected her thoughts when he handed her the cup of ice chips.

"Would you like an ice chip?" she asked as she held the cup in front of her, eager to lend a helping hand. John nodded in acceptance and reached for the cup with a shaky hand, but immediately pulled back to hide it in shame.

"It's okay, John," she cooed as she reached down to give the shaking hand he tried to hide a comforting squeeze. "Would you like me to help?" she asked as she released his hand and grabbed an ice chip from the cup. She watched John contemplate his response, and was pleased when he slowly nodded his head 'yes'. She gladly brought the ice chip to his dry lips, but hesitated slightly when she noticed him shaking a little before she pushed the ice pass his slightly quivering lips. "You okay?" she asked with concern, and he merely nodded his head 'yes' again in response.

"Is yer throat any better, lad?" Carson asked as he finally decided to join in and stop observing from the end of the bed. He wasn't all to pleased at what he observed either, and hopes that John will eventually be able to overcome his uneasy feeling.

"Yeah… Thanks," John responded with a much clearer and less horse voice.

"You sound a whole lot better," Elizabeth paused, "Would you like some more?" she asked as she held up another ice chip.

"Oh… um… No, I'm good. Thanks though," John said as though he was unsure. The first one felt so soothing to his parched throat, but he was extremely uncomfortable with the close contact it would involve to get another one.

"Are ye sure, son?" Carson asked as he watched John become nervous and begin to fidget. He got the impression that John wanted another piece of ice, but he wasn't sure why he was turning it down when it was offered to him.

"Yeah…" John sighed as he nodded his head. He could tell Carson was paying close attention to his behavior, and it was making him feel extremely on edge. He couldn't seem to stop himself from shifting and fidgeting in the bed every minute or two, and Carson's observing wasn't helping the situation. He felt boxed in with Elizabeth on one side and Carson on the other. He was trying very hard to control his breathing and the tremors that were coursing through him, but he was finding it more difficult with every passing moment.

"Just let me know if you need another," Elizabeth said with a smile as she placed the cup of ice on the table beside John's bed. She turned back around and took his hand in hers, but she was concerned when she felt that he was shaking more than he was a few moments ago.

"Okay, son! I'm goin' to need to take a look at yer injuries and ask a few questions, so… ye feel up to it?" Carson asked as he started pulling the blankets aside, not waiting for John to respond. Carson wanted to get the exam done and over with before John's tremors got any worse.

John knew he really didn't have a choice and that Carson wasn't really asking, but he decided to protest anyways. "I'm kind of tired, Doc. I don't suppose we could do it later? Besides… Your freezing me here. Can I have my blankets back?" John responded, trying to use the absence of the blankets as an excuse for his shaking. Without the blankets on, Elizabeth and Carson could visibly see John's legs trembling and they doubted that it was because he was cold.

"I promise that as soon as we're done with the exam ye can have as many blankets and hours of sleep as ye want," Carson said with a reassuring tone, but he knew that the only thing that was going to make John happy was if they skipped the exam all together. He continued getting the blankets pushed to the bottom of the bed and took John's silence as an acceptance to the inevitable.

"It's okay… I'm sure Carson will make this as quick as possible." Elizabeth cooed after seeing the worry on John's face.

"It'll be over in no time," Carson reassured as he too noticed how uneasy John seemed about the exam. "All right…, now I'm goin' to lie ye down straight for a wee bit, and we can raise ye back up later if ye wish." he said with a comforting tone as he lowered the upper part of the bed down to an almost flat position. Elizabeth remained at John's side as she continued to hold his hand, while Carson was prepping for the exam.

Once Carson had John in a semi-lying position, he reached for the bottom of John's scrub top and began to pull it up to expose John's stomach. When he went to check under the dressings that were covering the wound Teyla had inflicted on him, he stopped abruptly and noticed that John's tremors had suddenly escalated. He quickly looked John up and down and saw that his entire body was trembling. "Take it easy, lad. It's all right… I'm just goin' to take a look to make sure everythin' is healin' properly," Carson said in a calming tone as he placed his hand flat on John's stomach to try and allow him to adjust to the contact. He could tell John was trying very hard to control the shaking and the fear he was feeling, but Carson didn't feel through his hand that John was making any progress on controlling the tremors. His trembling continued and his breathing was becoming more rapid.

"It's okay, John. Just relax… It's all right," Elizabeth cooed as she began stroking John's hair back off his forehead, while her other hand remained tightly held in his.

"I'm goin' to take a look now, son. So just relax and take it nice and easy, okay? I'll make it quick!" Carson assured as he began peeling away the dressings on the wound. John winced slightly in pain and gave Elizabeth's hand a tight squeeze.

"It's okay, John… I'm right here… It'll be over soon!" Elizabeth cooed as she continued to stroke her fingers through his hair. She felt his tremors increase as Carson continued to check over John's abdominal area, and she did her best to calm him as they increased even more when Carson ventured further up to check John's ribs. She did her best to calm him as his breathing increased, and she felt like she could cry when she heard a few whimpers escape his lips. She hated seeing him like this and wanted to tell Carson to stop, but she knew this had to be done.

"Okay, lad… Ye can relax for a few minutes. So far everythin' is lookin' good. I'm goin' to give ye a few seconds before I continue any further, so try and slow yer breathin' for me as best ye can." Carson informed with a comforting tone, after pulling John's scrub top back down to cover his chest and stomach.

"You did great, John! Just concentrate on some nice slow breaths for us, okay?" Elizabeth gently cooed. John shook his head in understanding and began to let out slow quivering breaths, but he was having a hard time controlling the tremors that were running through him.

It took a little longer than Carson had expected for John to slow his breathing, but he was willing to wait. He needed John as calm as possible before he started again. "Ye doin' all right there, son?" Carson asked as he placed a comforting pat on John's shoulder.

"Yeah…" John paused with an exhausting sigh, "Can I sleep now?" John asked with a tired voice. Carson could tell that the effort John was putting out to control the tremors and his fears was taking a lot out of him, but the exam needed to be finished before he could let him rest.

"I'm afraid not, lad. I still have two more things I need to look over, and then I promise ye can get some sleep." Carson sadly informed as he noticed John's relief turn back to worry. "I'll even give ye some more of that wonderful pain medication," he added to try and cheer John up, but it wasn't working. John seemed slightly annoyed and extremely nervous that the exam was not yet over.

"I don't suppose… I could check that myself?" John asked nervously, knowing very well what areas Carson had left to examine.

"Afraid not, John," Carson said softly as he shook his head and gave John a couple more pats on the arm. He could tell John was going to have a hard time with it by how nervous he seemed. If he wasn't shifting in the bed, then he was either fidgeting with the wires that were attached to him or the bottom edge of his scrub top.

"Carson, do you need me to wait outside?" Elizabeth asked, noticing how much trouble John was going to have with the rest of the exam. She also knew what remained for Carson to examine, and she didn't want to intrude on John's privacy.

"Aye, lass. It would probably be best," Carson responded apologetically. He knew she would prefer to stay, but he needed John to feel as comfortable as humanly possible. He then began pulling the privacy curtain back around to hide John from the rest of the infirmary, however, he only pulled it a little over half way around so John wouldn't feel boxed in or trapped. He finished up by nodding toward Elizabeth to let her know that it was her cue to leave.

She gave John her best smile and his hand a slight squeeze before turning to leave, but she abruptly turned back toward John when she realized he wasn't letting go of her hand. Both Carson and Elizabeth looked at each other in surprise.

"I'll just be waiting outside the infirmary doors, John," she assured him to try and make him understand that he needed to release her hand. She felt a little sick to her stomach when she saw the pleading fear in his eyes. She almost felt sorry for Carson that he was going to be inflicting more fear. Feeling helpless that she couldn't do something for John to make him less afraid, she gently tried releasing her hand from John's grip but he still wouldn't let go. She went to speak to convince him that it would be okay, but he tightened his hold on her and spoke first.

"Wait! Please… stay?" John pleaded at almost a whisper. He held onto her hand tightly and looked up at her as he waited for a response. Both Carson and Elizabeth were surprised by his request, and upset at how frightened his tone of voice sounded.

"John, I…" she softly began but John spoke up again as he began to fidget even more.

"Please…?" John practically begged as his eyes became slightly glazed with unshed tears. Elizabeth saw the desire and fear in his eyes for her to remain present, so she looked to Carson for advice.

"It's all right with me if it's okay with John," Carson addressed as he looked to John for a response. He was pleased when John nodded that it was all right, and both Elizabeth and Carson looked at each other and smiled. Carson was happy because he would have someone else there to help keep John calm and hopefully distract him some, while Elizabeth was happy because John was taking her advice and asking her for support. She felt slightly uncomfortable that she was going to be present during such a personal exam, but she was so glad to be there to help him through it.

"Okay, John… I'll stay," she said softly with a comforting smile as she watched a slight bit of relief wash over John's face. She was overwhelmed with glee that he felt the need to cling to her for support, and hoped that she could give him the comfort he was needing to help him through the rest of the exam.

"All right, then!" Carson cheerfully exclaimed. "Shall we begin?" he asked as he nodded toward John and then Elizabeth. He waited for John to respond, but when he didn't he continued anyways by putting on some latex gloves and laying out a tube of ointment and lubrication on the table next to the bed. Meanwhile, Elizabeth resituated herself so that she could still give John his privacy with her being there at the same time.

**Chapter Twenty Four "The Lower Exam"**

John heard Carson ask him if it was okay to begin, but he didn't feel like answering. He didn't feel like he would ever be ready for the exam, and he knew Carson would continue whether he answered him or not. He wished Carson would just leave it be, but he knew that wasn't going to happen.

"All right, John, just try and relax… I'm goin' to begin." Carson announced as he loosened the strings on John's scrub pants.

Elizabeth propped herself over John's chest with her left hand on the bed beside John's right arm and her other was still tightly holding his trembling hand. She made sure she had her back to Carson and the exam to give John as much privacy as possible. He still appeared very nervous but seemed to look a little relieved that she wasn't going to watch what Carson was doing, and she smiled down at him before responding to Carson's announcement. "We're ready," she informed Carson as she gave John's hand a comforting squeeze.

Carson could immediately feel John's tremors increase when he went to tug at the waste band of the scrub pants. "Try and relax, son. I'll make this as quick and painless as possible." Carson comforted. He knew by the way John was already responding that this wasn't going to be easy.

Elizabeth also felt John's tremors increasing and propped herself lower over his chest by resting her left elbow beside his shoulder. She was careful not to put too much pressure on his ribs, and used her left hand to continuously caress his hair back off his forehead. She was having trouble reading his facial expressions, but the sudden tightening grip she was feeling in her right hand told her that he wasn't just nervous. He was scared.

"It's okay, John," she spoke softly to try and comfort him as best she could.

Carson was glad that Elizabeth was there to comfort John, and proceeded with what he was doing. He pulled the scrub pants down past John's hips and stopped just above the knees. He was disturbed by how bad John's legs were shaking, but forced himself to continue so he wouldn't have to make John go through this any longer than he had to. He was pleased to see the dark bruises that used to cover John's hips were almost invisible now, and began to examine. He could tell just by looking that the swelling of his penis had gone down considerably, but when he touched it to get a better look John bent his knees up to his chest with a jerk.

"Please, stop! I can't… I can't do this!" John whimpered out as his breathing became rapid. Both Elizabeth and Carson could feel his intense shaking, and they felt guilty having to put him through this.

"It's okay, John. You can do this… Just concentrate on me, okay?" Elizabeth soothed as she massaged her fingers through his hair.

"Please… I can't!" John begged as a few tears escaped down the sides of his face.

"Just relax, son. I know ye don't like this, but I promise I'll make it quick. I just need ye to relax yer legs back down. Can ye do that for me?" Carson said softly as he patted John on his right knee, that was resting just above his chest behind Elizabeth. John shook his head 'no' as he squeezed his eyes shut, and more tears escaped down the sides of his face.

"Come on, John, I know you can do it. Just relax… I'm right here," Elizabeth cooed as she wiped a few of his tears away. She was pleased to see him open his eyes, and watched him take a few shuddering breaths to try and relax. John was still shaking pretty hard, but he managed to get his legs somewhat straightened back out with Carson's assistance.

"Ye're doin' great, son," Carson apprized as he helped John slowly relax his legs back down. He couldn't get John to straighten them all the way out, and allowed John to keep his knees slightly bent with his heels firmly pressed into the bed. "I'll make this quick… I just need ye to hang in there for me," Carson softly said as he continued with the exam. He gently went back to prodding John's penis, and he felt horrible when he heard John whimper a few times. At that moment, Carson was extremely thankful that Elizabeth was there to help.

"It's okay… It'll be all right," Elizabeth cooed as she continued to comfort him. She could tell he was trying really hard to control his shaking, and it bothered her deep down to hear him whimper.

"I'm almost done, lad," Carson informed with relief. He hated the fact that he was causing John so much pain and distress, but he knew he had to keep going. He was glad to see that the minor bite marks and bruises were no longer visible, but the deeper bite marks still had some healing to do. He grabbed the tube of ointment and covered the remaining marks as thoroughly and quickly as possible. He could feel himself sighing in relief that he was done with that exam, but he dreaded the next one. Wanting to get John through the next exam as quickly as possible, he wasted no time and began putting on some new gloves.

"Okay, son, that parts over. Ye did great!" Carson comforted as he leaned over across from Elizabeth to pat John on the shoulder. "Now this next part might be a doozy!" he exclaimed with a sigh. "I'm goin' to turn ye on yer side facin' Elizabeth for this next exam, and I'm goin' to put a blanket over the front of ye to try and keep as much of ye covered as I can. Are ye ready?" Carson informed as comforting as he could manage, considering the circumstances.

"Can we do that one later? Please… I'm pretty tired," John begged with a few sniffles as he continued to shake almost uncontrollably. He really wasn't looking forward to the next exam.

"I know yer tired, son, but I promise this will be the last one," Carson soothed as he rubbed his hand in a circular motion across John's stomach to try and make him feel more at ease.

"Please, I… I really don't want to do this next one!" John pleaded nervously with quivering lips.

"I know, son…" Carson paused with a sigh, "If it makes ye feel any better… I've done this exam on a man before and it's known to be uncomfortable, but I promise I'll be as quick and gentle as I can." he paused again with a sigh. "So… what do ye say?" Carson asked, hoping he had eased John's mind a bit.

John stared at Carson for a minute as he thought about it, and then turned his head back to look at Elizabeth. Elizabeth saw the worry in his eyes and did her best to assure him that everything would be all right, "It's all right, John. I can leave for this one if you'd like?" she asked, hoping that he wouldn't send her away. She could tell immediately that he didn't want her to go when he pulled her hand up to rest on his chest with a tight hold.

"Please stay?" John asked with a nervous whisper. He wasn't sure why exactly, but he felt like he would lose control of his fears if she weren't there.

"I'm not going anywhere," Elizabeth stated with a smile as she brushed a few strands back off his forehead.

"All right, lad, lets get ye turned onto yer side," Carson spoke up as he covered John with a single blanket to cover him from the waist down. He needed John to feel as secure and comfortable as possible.

Both Elizabeth and Carson managed to slowly turn John onto his left side without causing him too much pain to his ribs and side wound. John was still trembling all over and Carson decided to throw one more blanket over him while keeping his back side exposed. Meanwhile, Elizabeth took up residence right in front of John, still holding his hand. She used her left hand to run soothing circles on his upper back to try and keep him relaxed.

"Okay, now we're goin' to slowly bend yer knees and then press them to yer chest." Carson informed as he nodded to Elizabeth for assistance. He needed him in that position for John's comfort and for easy access. He would have had John lying on his back with his legs in stirrups, but he figured this would more than likely be the most comfortable position for John.

Once they had him in position, Carson grabbed the tube of lubricant and squeezed a good portion onto his newly gloved fingers. He figured the more lube, the easier it would be on John. He placed the tube back down in front of him on the bed and went to spread the cheeks of John's butt apart, but John squeezed them tightly shut as soon as Carson had made contact. "Take it easy, lad! I need ye to relax a bit!" Carson soothed as he tried to split his cheeks apart again, but John wouldn't stop clenching. "I need ye to let me examine ye, son! Just relax, okay?" Carson asked, hoping he wouldn't have to force his way in.

"I can't…," John breathed out, "I don't want to do this! I change my mind!" he pleaded in fear. He tried to stop himself from shaking, but it just kept getting worse.

"You can do this… Just allow Carson to examine you and it will be over in no time. Then you can take a nice long rest, okay? Or we could play a game of chess or something! Maybe you can even tell me why you like turkey sandwiches so much!" Elizabeth said softly with a comforting smile, as she continued to run soothing circles on his back. Carson noticed that John was being distracted and quickly spread John's butt cheeks as soon as he noticed that they were no longer clenched. John reacted immediately.

"Wait! Please don't!" John pleaded as he tried to squirm away. Carson continued to keep his cheeks spread while trying desperately to ignore John's please. It bothered him that John was begging him to stop, but he pushed himself into professional mode and began coating John's rectal entrance with plenty of lube. Carson was about to push in, but stopped at the next plea that flew from John's mouth.

"Rodney, Please… Please don't!" John cried out, as the tears he could no longer hold in began to stream down his face.

"John…" Elizabeth addressed to try and get his attention. "John, please look at me?" she pleaded. "John, Rodney isn't here… I promise! It's just myself and Carson. We're not going to hurt you. It's okay," she whispered into his ear as she wrapped her left arm around him in an embrace.

Carson hesitated to continue, but noticed that Elizabeth seemed to have everything under control. He gently pushed his right handed index finger in and was upset to hear John begin to whimper. He could feel with his finger how tight and tense John was, but he slid one more lubricated finger inside.

John began to sob out loud and tried to squirm away from Carson, but Elizabeth held him in place as she kept him in a close embrace. "Oh God… Please stop! Rodney… Please?" John cried as he stopped trying to fight back the tears. Elizabeth could tell he was exhausted from trying to control his trembling for so long, and he just didn't have the strength to fight anymore. She could feel his wet tears soaking into her shirt on her right shoulder, and continued to whisper comforting words in his ear. She felt one of her own tears escape down her left cheek, but quickly wiped it away. She replaced her hand back on his back and soothingly ran it back and forth to comfort him through his sobbing. She held him tight up against her, and squeezed his trembling hand that was trapped in between them as he continued to cry. She did the only thing she could do, which was be there for him.

Carson could tell the fight was leaving him as he felt the pressure of the walls in his rectum decreasing. He quickly felt around and found the biggest of the tears was still present, but had immensely decreased in size. He reached behind with his left hand and snatched a tube of Diltiazem (anal healing ointment) to help speed up the healing process. He only pulled out one of the two fingers and placed some of the Diltiazem on it before pushing it back in. He quickly and thoroughly coated what remained of the tear and slowly pulled both fingers out. After disposing of his gloves, he began to straighten John's legs back out so that he could pull his pants back up. He found the task to be easy as John didn't put up a fight, and he was beginning to realize that the strain of the exam took a lot out of John. He didn't even think John realized he was pulling his scrub pants back up past his hips as he watched him continue to cry in Elizabeth's embrace.

"It's over, son. Ye did great!" Carson said softly to John as he lightly placed his hand on Elizabeth's left should.

"John, It's okay. It's over," Elizabeth cooed into his ear. The relief she felt was more than welcome, and she hoped that John's emotional scars were not permanent. She didn't know if she could take not being able to get close to him every now and then, and didn't want to accept the fact that what happened to him may prevent him from ever getting intimately close to someone.

Carson retied the front of John's scrub pants and fussed with the blanket a bit before turning back to Elizabeth. "We need to turn him over on his back so he can get some rest," Carson informed her with a friendly tone, as he placed his hand on her left shoulder once again.

"Yeah… I think the exam took a lot out of him," she responded softly as she soothingly ran her fingers through the hair on the back of John's head. She was pleased that his sobs had turned to soft whimpers, but she noticed his tremors remained. She went to pull back so that she could look at him, but he quickly wrapped his right arm around her waist and kept her closely held. "That's okay, John… You don't have to come out yet!" she softly spoke as she took him back into her embrace. If John wasn't up to facing anyone yet it was fine by her, as long as she got to continue holding him.

Carson saw the dilemma Elizabeth was faced with, and it saddened him that John felt ashamed by his actions. "John, it's okay. Please…, don't be embarrassed. Ye have nothin' to be ashamed of, lad. What ye've gone through was somethin' no person should ever have to experience, but it's goin' to be okay. We're here for ye, and we're goin' to help ye through this!" Carson comforted as he gave John a few pats on the shoulder before turning back to Elizabeth. "Once he's settled down, try and get him to lie on his back. It puts less pressure on his ribs when he breaths, and if ye need anythin' I'll be in my office updatin' John's progress reports." he whispered to Elizabeth before turning to leave, and she nodded in understanding as she continued to comfort John.

Carson took one more glance at them, before disappearing behind the privacy curtain, and headed for his office. He was pleased with the progress of John's injuries, but he was extremely concerned about John's emotional state of mind. After seeing John react the way he did to the exam, he was starting to consider that maybe the best course of action would be to give John a couple of days for his body to do some more healing before stressing him to deal emotionally with what happened to him on the planet.

**Chapter Twenty Five "Two Days Later"**

Two days have gone by since the exam, while the relationship between John, Elizabeth, and Carson was becoming closer with each passing encounter. John's physical therapy had begun and with Carson and Elizabeth there for support, his muscle tone and strength was gradually building back up. Carson had originally started John off with one of the attending physical therapists, but once he saw how uncomfortable John seemed with the physical contact he decided to personally see to John's therapy himself. John still seemed uneasy to the physical contact Carson was giving him during the therapy, but there was an improvement to his behavior as compared to his response with the previous therapists. His behavior seemed to improve even more once Elizabeth showed up to one, so Carson asked that she attend John's therapy sessions on a regular basis. Both of them noticed that John seemed relaxed around them more than anyone else, and were pleased that he felt safer too. They're hoping that John will eventually allow others to get close, but they were satisfied with the progress he's made so far in just the past few days and didn't want to push him.

"Ye're doin' great, lad!" Carson praised to John, whom were both on an exercise mat on the floor at the far end of the infirmary. "At this rate ye'll be up and about in no time," he added as he helped John, who was lying flat on his back, flex and extend both of his legs. His legs were still pretty shaky from decreased muscle mass as Carson continued to apply pressure, but it was a big improvement compared to a few days ago when the physical therapy first began.

"No time…" John mocked with a sigh in a glum tone. Carson didn't miss the despair in his tone as he flexed John's right knee up to his chest, but he was careful not to hover over him or put to much pressure. He didn't want John to think he was being held down or restrained in any way, nor did he want to crowd him.

"Aye, ye'll be back to yer cocky self in no time!" Carson exclaimed as he gently extended John's leg back out.

"If you say so, Doc…" John sighed as he continued to lie there, while Carson moved toward his upper body.

"Aye, son… I do say so," Carson said softly as he placed the palm of his hand on John's stomach in a comforting manner. He felt John begin to tremble and was about to speak again, but Elizabeth suddenly graced them with her presence.

"Hey, how are you?" Elizabeth cheerfully asked John as she hovered above him, with her hands on her knees, and smiled down at his face.

"Peachy…" John quietly sighed. Elizabeth looked to Carson and received a knowing glance. They could tell something was wrong, so Elizabeth knelt down opposite of Carson beside John. She reached down and placed her hand on John's left shoulder, and she was saddened to feel that John still trembled and flinched in response to physical contact.

"There's still no sign of you're team, but Bates is confident that they'll eventually zero in on their position." Elizabeth informed, hoping she wasn't making a mistake by bringing the subject up. Carson felt John's trembles slightly increase and began running soothing circular motions with his hand that was still resting on John's stomach.

"That's… good…," John sighed as he slightly shifted on the floor. Both Elizabeth and Carson could tell he was getting uncomfortable. Elizabeth went to change the subject before John got too upset, but to her surprise he spoke again. "What will happen to them… once they're found? I mean… will you be able to turn them back?" John asked nervously, and Carson was aware that his breathing had increased as he continued to run soothing circles on his stomach.

Carson had not yet mentioned to John about what had exactly caused his team to act that way in the first place. He was afraid that doing so would have done more harm than good. He was surprised that John was even ready to ask such a question, but he wasn't going to hold back on him now that he has finally opened up a little. "Well…" Carson paused with a sigh, "They were infected by the yellow fruit that they had come into contact with, and it caused their more primitive instincts to take over while their hormone levels sky rocketed," he paused when he noticed John become extremely uneasy at the mention of hormones, but he continued. "I believe that if we can get them back to Atlantis, all we have to do is get the inside components of the fruit into their system to cure them. I've even managed to refine it so that it can be given to them as an injection, rather than them havin' to eat it. It should bring them back to normal as quickly as it had infected them." Carson informed without letting John's increased trembling go unnoticed. He went to ask him if he was all right, but John spoke first.

"Will… will they… remember…" John paused as he had to swallow a knot that was forming in his throat, "Will they remember… what happened?" he finished as he began to nervously fidget. Elizabeth and Carson looked at each other in surprise by his question. They weren't expecting him to be able to ask such a question at his current state.

"Well... we're not really sure, John," Elizabeth said softly as she looked from Carson and then back down at John. It pained her to see that his eyes were slightly glazed as he fought back the tears that were on the brink of streaming down his face. She could tell that he was fighting with all his might to hold himself together, as he continuously swallowed and wouldn't make eye contact with either her or Carson.

Carson was glad to see that John was opening up a little, and tried to see if he would open a little more. "Do ye want to talk about it?" Carson asked softly with a comforting tone. John was unable to answer because he was afraid the tears would fall if he attempted to speak, so he just slowly shook his head 'no' as he swallowed hard. Carson didn't want to push, but he wanted John to know that he was there for him not only as a doctor but a friend. "That's okay, lad. Ye don't have to talk now, but myself and Elizabeth are here for ye when ye're ready. Okay?" he assured with a comforting tone.

"I know… I'm just not ready…" John softly croaked.

"That's okay, John. It doesn't have to be now. Just let use know when you're ready," Elizabeth cooed with a smile, as she wiped a few of his tears away that had managed to escape down the side of his face.

"Let's sit ye up, lad… I think that's all we'll do for today," Carson stated as he tucked one of his arms under John's and slowly eased him up to a seated position. Carson wished there was something he could do to cheer John up, but he couldn't seem to think of anything until Elizabeth spoke.

"Maybe Carson will allow me to get you out of the infirmary for a little bit," Elizabeth inferred after seeing how down in the dumps John seemed lately. She was pleased to see John lift his head with surprise and hope in his eyes at the mention of her offer.

Carson almost immediately said 'no', knowing that John was not yet strong enough, but thought of a solution. "Actually…, that's not such a bad idea." Carson paused when he saw how John seemed to cheer up a bit, "But… on one condition! Ye ride in a wheelchair!" Carson exclaimed with a friendly smile. John didn't even argue, but shook his head in agreement. He would have done just about anything to get out of there, even if it were for only a few moments.

Carson left John with Elizabeth for a few seconds, only to return with a welcoming wheelchair. They both helped John up and into the wheelchair with ease, which saddened Elizabeth to feel how light and fragile he still was. Carson had informed her that John hadn't been eating much, but that he hoped his appetite would eventually return. She didn't see how he could lose any more weight, since he was scrawny to begin with, but it was starting to show.

Once they had him situated in the chair Elizabeth offered to be the one to escort John around, and Carson gave no arguments. In fact, he practically insisted on it hoping that it would give John an opportunity to open up some more. He also thought it would be good for the both of them to spend some time together outside the confines of the infirmary walls.

John wasn't his old self, but she could tell his spirits were up as they rounded the first corner they came to. "John, is there anywhere in particular you'd like to go?" she asked, hoping that giving him a choice would give him back some of his independence.

He was silent for a while as he contemplated on where he would like to go, but then he knew exactly where he wanted to be. "Can we go out on the balcony at the far eastern side of the city?" he asked with anticipation.

She had a feeling that was where he would want to go, seeing as that's where she used to always end up finding him when she had trouble contacting him. "I had a feeling you would choose that. I'm starting to catch on that it's your favorite place to hide!" she teased with a smile as she turned the wheelchair in the direction of John's favorite balcony.

"It's really quiet there…" was all John could say as he patiently allowed Elizabeth to wheel him around.

It took about ten minutes to reach the balcony, and Elizabeth was concerned about the way John reacted to people they passed on the way. They had passed several soldiers, some Athosians, and a number of civilian scientists, all of whom greeted John with enthusiasm. They expressed how they were glad to see him up and about and that he seemed well, but John seemed to act nervous and distant to their concerns. The way he was responding made her very thankful that no one attempted any physical contact with him, other than the hand she placed on his shoulder a few times to comfort him. She was relieved when she finally rolled him out onto the balcony, but startled when the doors suddenly closed behind her. She almost forgot that John was capable of willing the Ancient technology to do as he pleased, and understood that he closed the doors because he didn't want to be bothered.

"Sorry…" John softly apologized when he noticed Elizabeth jump.

"No, that's okay... I just forgot how easy it was for you to do that." She assured as she wheeled him closer to the edge of the balcony. She looked out over the railing and completely understood why John liked coming out there so much. It had a beautiful view and the breeze was very calming. Even the sound of the ocean splashing up against the side of the city, just below the balcony, was extremely intoxicating. She turned back to John to tell him how amazing the view was, but smiled instead when she saw that his eyes were closed as he listened to those very sounds.

**TBC…**

* * *

I hope you are looking forward to Part Four! Now feed the 'Power Hungry Beast' (Giggles!)! LOL! 


	4. Part Four

I sadly do not have a Beta Reader, so all mistakes are my own!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Stargate Atlantis or any of it's characters!

**Inhuman Part Four  
**Author: Maggie K. M.  
Characters: Aiden Ford, Carson Beckett, Elizabeth Weir, John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Zelenka  
Pairings: Sheppard/Weir  
Genres: General, Action & Adventure, Angst, Drama, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance  
Rating: M  
Warnings: Abuse, Language, Rape, Torture, Violence  
Summary: Sheppard enters the event horizon after giving Elizabeth his usual boyish smile. She smiles back, not knowing that may be the last time she will see him smile.

Before reading any further, make sure you read Inhuman Part One, Two, and Three!

**Chapter Twenty Six "Three More Days Later"**

It's been another three days and there has still been no news on the whereabouts of John's team. Meanwhile, John has become increasingly agitated and distant toward the medical staff, causing Carson and Elizabeth to worry if how their handling the situation is what's truly best for John.

"Look… I'm grateful for no longer having to endure the catheter, but I'm getting really tired of having to pee in a cup. I want to go to the restroom, and I want to go to the restroom on my own!" John snapped at the nurse that had just handed him a urinal cup. He slid his legs over the edge of the bed as his muscles protested, while the nurse tried restraining him from going any further. He was about to hop down from the bed against the nurses demands, but Carson appeared right on cue.

"What the bloody hell is goin' on in here?" Carson demanded as he came storming in from his office to see what the commotion was all about.

"Major Sheppard is insistent on getting out of bed to use the restroom," the nurse explained to Carson as she gave John a stern look. Carson was about to respond, but John cut him off.

"I'm not peeing in this damn cup anymore!" John exclaimed as he thrust the urinal cup into the nurses hands, "I'm a big boy and very capable of taking care of business without assistance. And I don't care for having an audience every time I have to take a piss!" he yelled as he gave the nurse an annoyed look. He went to slide off the bed but was stopped by Carson's comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Take it easy, John… They're just tryin' to help," Carson soothed as he placed himself in front of John to prevent him from getting out of bed. He watched John closely as he noticed him sigh a long breath. He turned his head toward the nurse and gave her a nod to let her know he needed to speak with John in private, and waited until she was gone before speaking. "Is there anythin' ye want to talk about, lad?" he asked as he gave John's shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"I… I just… I'm tired of them crowding me all the time. Their always poking and prodding me, and constantly asking me how I feel!" John sighed as he continued to calm down. Carson continued watching John as he began to fidget and wouldn't make eye contact. John took several more calming breaths and closed his eyes, as if he were in deep thought before speaking again. "I don't see why they have to jot down how much food I eat, how much sleep I get, how irritable or passive I am, and especially how often I have to piss or take a dump. Can I at least go to the restroom without the entire infirmary having to know about it?" John exasperated as he still wouldn't make eye contact with Carson.

Carson could tell this was really bothering John and felt true sympathy for his patient. "I know this isn't what ye want to hear, lad, but I do need the nurses to document that data. Once I see that ye are eatin' enough we'll discuss backin' off on havin' to document it. Ye're under weight right now, and I'd really like to see ye eat more. As for usin' the restroom, why don't I help ye to the bathroom to see how ye doin' and we'll go from there. …What do ye say?" Carson asked with an assuring tone as he watched John contemplate his answer. It took a few seconds, but John finally made eye contact and slowly nodded 'yes'. "Okay then, let's get ye to ye're feet… and I want ye to take it nice and slow," Carson instructed as he stepped to the right side of John. He held on tightly to John's right bicep with his right hand, and wrapped his left arm around John's waist from the back as he helped John slowly ease off the bed. John's knees immediately buckled as soon as his feet came into contact with the cold floor, but Carson held him tightly until John got his bearings. Once John got his legs to cooperate they started a slow but tedious walk to the restroom.

Carson helped John get positioned in front of what served as a urinal in Atlantis before leaving to let John do his business in private. "I'll be right outside if ye need anythin', and just give a yell when ye're finished," Carson informed as he helped John grasp a support bar that was just to the right of the urinal. John merely nodded, and Carson was slightly worried about how quiet John had been since they started their long trek to the restroom.

He left John to do his business as he waited patiently outside the door, but he made sure to leave the door slightly cracked open incase anything happened. John had been in there a while now and Carson was starting to get worried. "John…, is everythin' all right in there?" Carson asked as he lightly knocked on the door. He waited a few seconds for an answer, but when he didn't get one he eased the door open to peek inside. He looked in to find John still standing in front of the urinal with shaky legs as he was trying to pull his scrub pants up with one hand.

"I… I kind of ran into a problem, Doc," John stuttered as his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.

"It's okay, John, there's no need to be embarrassed. Do ye need me to help ye out a bit?" Carson comforted as he entered the restroom and closed the door behind him, to continue maintaining John's privacy.

"Yeah… I um… My legs got kind of tired after standing in place and…" John paused with a sigh, "If um… If I let go of the bar I think I might fall…, but I seem to be having trouble finishing up with one hand…" John tried explaining with obvious embarrassment.

"It's all right, lad, ye don't have to explain. Let me help ye out a bit," Carson said as comforting as he could and quickly went to John's side. As John shyly tucked his member in with his one hand, Carson gently pulled John's scrub pants back up around his waist. He then helped John to the sink and kept him steady while he washed his hands. Carson didn't miss the fact that John was trembling, he just wasn't sure if it was caused by fatigue or by the physical contact.

By the time Carson got him back to bed John was exhausted, but he had done a fair better then what Carson had expected. He then began his ritual fussing over him by making sure the blankets were in place and that John was comfortable before assessing his vitals. He was about to praise John on how he exceeded his expectations, but didn't get the chance as a familiar voice made their presence known.

"Carson…, how's our favorite patient doing this morning?" Elizabeth asked with a smile aimed toward John as she approached the side of his bed.

"Well his strength seems to be returnin' and his vital signs are good. It looks like he'll be back to his normal daily routine in no time," Carson explained with a smile as he gave John a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"That's great news, John!" Elizabeth exclaimed with a pause as she took his hand and gave it a squeeze, "I need to speak with Carson for a few minutes but I'll be back to finish that scrabble game we didn't get to finish last night." she added as she looked up at Carson with concern when she realized John wasn't responding much. She could tell by his face that he appeared exhausted and it worried her that he seemed so distant. "John, is there anything you want to talk about?" she asks smiling down at him to try and get some kind of response, but he shakes his head 'no' as he keeps his gaze focused on the blankets over his lap. Not wanting to push the issue, she gives John's hand one more squeeze before releasing it to accompany Carson to his office.

Once they reached his office Elizabeth wasted no time, "Carson, I'm really worried about the way John's been acting lately. He's becoming more distant with each passing day, and I think we should consider allowing John to return to his own quarters for the rest of his care. I really think it would help give him back the feeling of independence." She stated, expecting Carson to say 'no' without any hesitation.

"Actually, I couldn't agree with ye more. I think givin' John some independence would do wonders for him, especially after how things went this mornin' . However, I'm not sure that sendin' him to his quarters is somethin' we should do so soon. He still needs to be closely watched and taken care of, and I'm the only doctor he'll allow to examine him. He even gives my nurses a hard time. Infact, the only people he allows to get close to him is yerself and I!" he exclaimed with understanding to her concerns.

"I've noticed that as well, and I'm willing to watch over him during the times you're needed here in the infirmary," she volunteered without hesitation.

"I'm sure ye are willin', lass, but he's still pretty weak in some areas. Are ye sure ye can handle taken care of him in my absence?" he asked, wanting to make sure she knew what she was getting herself into.

"I think it will be worth trying… It's something I think John really needs," she responded, hoping Carson would agree.

"I agree it will do John some good, but we'll also have to make sure John gets out every once and a while to keep in contact with people other than ourselves. We don't want to isolate him, it would make it even more difficult for him to get back to his normal lifestyle." he pointed out with concern on how this plan could backfire on them.

"I agree," she responded with a nod of understanding.

"All right then…, what do ye say we go see what John thinks?" he asked with a smile as he gestured with his hand for her to lead the way.

They approached John's bed and weren't surprised to find that he had fallen asleep. "Hey, John…, I need ye to wake up for a minute… Come on, lad, open those eyes for me!" Carson soothed as he gently gave John's shoulder a shake.

"Hmmmm…" John moaned as he began to wake.

"There ye go, wake up a bit more now," Carson persisted as he placed his left hand over John's forehead. "He feels a bit warm. I'll have to give him some aspirin for the fever, it should go down. …Come on, lad, wake up!" he continued as he gave John another shake.

"Wha…," John mumbled as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Hey there!" Elizabeth greeted him with a smile, and gave his hand a comforting squeeze.

"Are ye with us, lad?" Carson asked to see if his patient was fully awake yet.

"Yeah… Yeah, I'm awake…" John mumbled softly as he began to focus on Carson and Elizabeth's face, which were hovered above him.

"Hey, sunshine!" Elizabeth teased, as she smiled down at him and continued holding his hand.

"Hey…" he softly replied

"We wanted to discuss yer ticket out of the infirmary!" Carson informed as he placed a comforting hand to rest on John's abdomen. He didn't miss John's slight trembles in response to the touch.

"I don't understand," John said with confusion evident on his face.

"Carson and myself think you're ready to go back to your quarters, and that you can complete the rest of your care and physical therapy from there." Elizabeth informed him with a cheerful tone, hoping that John would perk up after hearing the news.

"Seriously?" John asked as he looked from Elizabeth's face to Carson's with remaining confusion.

"Yes, ye'll be leavin' what I call the infirmary and ye call a prison. Ye'll still be looked after, though." Carson paused slightly when he noticed John's sudden discomfort. "I'm only allowin' this if ye agree to Elizabeth and myself playin' vigil on ye," he added and was pleased when he noticed John slightly relax. "So…, ye want to give it a try or would ye rather stay in the infirmary for the rest of yer care?" Carson teased, knowing John wouldn't choose the infirmary as he gave him a couple of comforting pats on the stomach.

"When do I leave?" John answered, while both Carson and Elizabeth where pleased to hear the slight perk in John's tone. Elizabeth smiled, seeing how the plan was already improving John's mood.

"Well… I'm goin' to send for yer breakfast tray and if ye be good and eat as much as ye can, I might have ye out of here by lunch time." Carson threw in the food bribe to try and get his patient to get back to eating regularly.

"That's a deal, Doc!" John conceded as he turned to Elizabeth and gave her a slight curve of the lip. No matter how minuscule the smile was, it was enough to make Elizabeth's heart skip a beat.

**Chapter Twenty Seven "The Duty-Free"**

It was just yesterday before lunch that John was released back to his quarters, and both Carson and Elizabeth could already see a positive change in his attitude towards getting better. Carson was still forcing supplement drinks and jell-o down him, but John was sticking to the deal and eating as much as he could each time. John's strength was gradually returning with all injuries almost completely healed, and Elizabeth had managed to talk Carson into allowing her to take John out of his quarters for a walk without a wheelchair. As long as he didn't overdo it.

"Carson is going to kill me if he finds out I took you out this far," Elizabeth pointed out to John as they headed toward John's favorite balcony. Soon to become Elizabeth's favorite getaway spot.

"We're almost there…, and I won't tell the angry Scotsman if you don't!" John teased. He was struggling a little as they slowly made their way down the hallway, but Elizabeth helped support him with her left arm around his waist. It was a slow progress, but Elizabeth decided it was well worth it after seeing the relief that washed over John's face once they reached the balcony. It was like a big achievement he had made towards recovery, and it made him feel good that things might start feeling like normal again.

They stood at the railing for quite some time, listening and looking out over the ocean. John relied on the railing for most of his support, but he found comfort in the arm wrapped around his waist that Elizabeth insisted remain to make sure he didn't fall. She used the excuse that she didn't want to have to face the wrath of Carson if he were to fall and injure himself, but lately John was starting to wonder if that was the only reason she felt the need to be close to him. He's had strong feelings toward her for some time now, but he was beginning to feel that she felt the same for him. He wants to take action or give her some kind of sign that lets her know how he feels, but he's afraid he may be mistaken and be seeing things that aren't really there. He's worried he's just confusing an interest for a romantic companionship with a friends concern for his welfare. He would have continued running the possibilities through his confused mind, but his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Elizabeth's comforting voice.

"It's almost lunch time, and I thought we could maybe stop by the duty-free on the way back… since it's on the way. I'd imagine you're wearing pretty thin on the jell-o Carson's been making you eat," Elizabeth teased as her arm around his waist gave a comforting squeeze. "I won't tell Carson if you happen to come across a turkey sandwich," she added with a mischievous smirk.

John jerked his head away in surprise, from the ocean view to her smiling face. "I don't know…" he responded with a worried grin, followed by a nervous chuckle.

"Come on… It'll be our little secret," Elizabeth paused to smile at him, "Besides…, when have you ever abided by Carson's rules?" she inquired as she gave a slight tug toward the door. She watched the turmoil play across his face before he finally answered.

"I guess I could use it as a rest point between here and my quarters," John justified with a sigh. "I don't know if I can make it back in one fluid trip like we did to get here. Actually…, I almost didn't think we were going to make it those final steps it took just to make it to this railing!" he joked as he allowed her to lead him away from the balcony and back into what seemed like the never ending hallway. Elizabeth smiled with triumph as she took some of his weight, with her left arm still tightly wrapped around his waist, and chanced placing her right hand on his stomach. She felt him slightly tremble to the touch, but it only lasted a few moments as he adjusted to the contact. They continued down the hallway at a slow pace until they finally reached the doors to the duty-free. The doors opened automatically as they approached and they entered with her remaining close to his side, not caring that others would see them in the position they were in.

Noticing that John was exhausted, she got John settled at a table not far from the food court and then went to get them some food. She kept a close eye on him as she patiently waited in line. She originally wanted to find him a quiet table in the corner, but decided to choose a place more toward the middle of the room so that he could get back to being around large crowds again. From what she could tell from the short distance she was from him, he seemed to be doing okay. She did notice him visibly stiffen and tense up a couple of times when someone stopped in front of him to let him know it was good to see him up and about, but he appeared to be handling it. She had expected as much, but was grateful no one made physical contact with him. She wasn't sure if John was ready for that leap yet, but was confident he would be eventually.

When it was finally her turn in line, she nervously took her gaze away from John and started gathering things onto the food tray. She immediately grabbed a turkey sandwich for John along with a cup of fruit and grabbed herself a bread bowl salad along with two cartons of chocolate milk for herself and John. She grabbed the proper condiments, napkins, and utensils needed before turning to head back. She immediately noticed the small group of soldiers that were now gathered around John and sped up her pace to rejoin him. Two soldiers were standing on both sides of John as he remained seated, with one hunched over while talking, and the remaining three were seated at the table around him. She couldn't get a good visual on John or hear what they were discussing until she got closer.

"…It's good to see you up and about, Sir!" finished the soldier that was standing beside him hunched over as he gave John a few pats on the shoulder, and he immediately flinched. Elizabeth finally got a good view of John's face and noticed right away that he was slightly paler than he was before she left him. Seeing that John's respirations had also increased and that he was unmistakably distressed, she decided to cut the group of soldier's visit short.

"Gentlemen!" she announced cheerfully, "I'm sure Major Sheppard is enjoying the company, but he needs to get some food down before Dr. Beckett pays him a visit." she explained, hinting for them to part company.

" Yes, Ma'am… Of course," responded the young soldier who was hunched over. He then stood at attention and nodded to his fellow soldiers that they needed to leave so that John could enjoy his meal. They each said their goodbyes and wished him well, while Elizabeth took residence in the seat beside John as he nervously nodded in acknowledgement to the fleeing soldiers. He appreciated their concern and cheerful banter, but he felt so claustrophobic with them gathered so closely around him. He had felt a wave of relief wash over him when Elizabeth had returned to shoo them away.

"Is everything all right, John?" she asked, noticing his breathing had evened out and that he seemed more at ease.

"Yeah…, I'm good!" he sighed as he turned his gaze from the retreating soldiers to her worried face. "Is that a turkey sandwich?" he added as he pointed to the sandwich in question on the food tray.

"That it is!" she replied cheerfully as she sat the tray down in front of them. "I wasn't sure what you liked on it, so… I grabbed a packet of each condiment," she added as she began taking things from the tray and placing them in front of him.

"That's great… thanks," he shyly replied as he grabbed a packet of mayonnaise and relish.

They sat their enjoying their meal as they exchanged a few friendly words now and then, but Elizabeth could tell that John wasn't totally relaxed as the number of people in the food court was quickly increasing as everyone was stopping in for lunch. His hands were shaking and he was becoming extremely fidgety. He picked up his carton of chocolate milk to take a drink, but his shaking hands caused a dribble of it to run down the corner of his mouth and onto his chin. Elizabeth quickly grabbed a napkin and wiped it away for him before he could use his hand. They both locked eyes and she smiled shyly at him before they both went back to finishing their meal.

**Chapter Twenty Eight "Not Ready"**

John was exhausted by the time they were heading back to his quarters, after trying to keep his nerves and emotions in check from being around so many people. He felt an aching pain in his stomach from the nausea he was feeling, but brushed it off as they approached his quarters. As usual, the doors swooshed open automatically and they entered on what last bit of energy John had left. Elizabeth helped him to sit on the edge of the bed and then proceeded to take off his shoes one by one. She felt John shiver so lightly that she almost mistook it for trembling.

"Are you cold?" she asked as she tossed his last shoe to the side of his night stand.

"Um… Maybe a little. I think it's just from feeling tired," he mumbled just before slightly shivering again. Elizabeth didn't miss it, and grabbed the blanket that was folded at the end of the bed. She wrapped it around his shoulders as she knelt down in front of him, and then started rubbing her hands up and down his arms to help keep him warm. She locked eyes with him for the second time that day, but felt herself blush as she suddenly found herself paying close attention to his lips and couldn't stop herself from licking her own. After the awkward moment had passed she went to stand and started pushing him back on the bed to lay him down, but John suddenly leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

"I'm sorry… I um…" John stuttered nervously after quickly pulling away from her lips. He couldn't believe he just did that. "I don't… I don't know what came over me," he added as he began to fidget uncomfortably on the edge of the bed. He would have continued apologizing but was cut off by Elizabeth pressing her lips to his in a passionate but gentle kiss. Their hearts were racing and she almost regretted returning the kiss until she felt John deepening it. She desired this man so strongly that she couldn't control herself. She knew she should take it slow with him after all he's been through, but her hormones were taking over. She went back down to her knees with her waist resting comfortably in between his thighs as they continued to deepen the kiss. She hesitantly slid her tongue in to taste him at first, but plunged further in when she felt his own tongue give approval by sliding in to taste her. She brought her left hand up to cup the right side of his face, while the fingers on her right hand combed through his hair on the back of his head. He reciprocated by placing his hands around her waist and pulling her close up against him. As soon as she felt how hard he was for her, pressed up against her belly, her desire increased. She brought her left hand down away from his face and slowly slid it down his chest to the waist band of his pants, while he began sliding his hands up her back beneath her top. His trembling hands against her skin sent tingles of pleasure straight to her core and she gently began undoing the zipper of his pants. Unable to hold herself back, she eased her hand through the fly of his boxers and tenderly pulled his erect penis out from it's confinement. She couldn't believe this was happening, and smiled with triumph as John let slip a soft groan of pleasure into her mouth. She took that as a sign for her to continue as she gently wrapped her fingers around his shaft and began to slowly run her hand up and down it. She was immediately rewarded with a gasp of pleasure from John's lips, after pulling mere millimeters apart. She took advantage of their parted lips and released her hold on his penis as she started pushing him down flat on the bed. She swiftly climbed up over him as she straddled his hips, followed by returning to their passionate kissing. She reached between their highly aroused bodies and gently began caressing his penis again, but she became alarmed when his member suddenly went limp after only the fourth stroke. She was then frighteningly aware that John was shaking beneath her. She broke the kiss immediately and looked at his face to find a few tears were streaming down the side of his face from his tightly shut eyes.

"John…, open your eyes," she soothed as she wiped his tears away with her thumbs. She felt guilty after suddenly realizing the position she was in to be the same position Teyla had taken over him back on the planet, and quickly slid to where she was lying along side him instead of overtop him. "John…, it's Elizabeth! Please open your eyes?" she continued to sooth.

He slowly opened his eyes and blinked away the remaining tears, as he tried to get the trembles that were coursing through his body under control. "I'm sorry… I…" he croaked out as fresh tears started to form from his embarrassment. He felt so ashamed, and couldn't believe his buddy betrayed him by going limp at the most inopportune moment.

"No, John… I'm the one who should be sorry. Are you okay?" she asked as she soothingly combed his hair back off his forehead.

"Yeah…," he sighed with a pause as his breathing began to even out, "But I need you to know it wasn't you… or anything you did…! You have nothing to be sorry for…! It wasn't because of you that I… um… you know…," he added frantically in a panic to try and explain to her that it wasn't her that turned him off. He started to continue explaining, but Elizabeth stopped him as she gently placed her fingers to his lips to silence him.

"It's okay… I know," she paused with a smile to comfort him. She knew he was embarrassed by his inability to perform, but it didn't change the way she felt for him. She knew the real reason for his impotency. "I'm in no hurry, John… I'm more than willing to wait until you're ready," she added with assurance to let him know that the incident wouldn't prevent any future attempts, and that she knew the real reason for his failure to perform. She saw fresh tears begin to form in his eyes again and felt them begin to form in her own. It was an extremely emotional moment for them and they laid there in each other's tight embrace. She reached down between them to tuck his penis back in and zip the fly of his pants back up before pulling the blanket up further around him. He went to speak but she returned her fingers to his trembling lips. "It's okay… Just close your eyes and get some sleep," she soothed before planting a gentle kiss on his lips, followed by sliding out of the bed. She had headed toward the chair next to John's bed, but she turned back to find John was tugging her shirt for her to return. Without a word, she removed her radio from her ear to place on the night stand and slid back under the covers with him as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. She pressed herself into him and listened to the beat of his heart and the feel of his chest rise and fall. It wasn't long before she knew he was fast asleep, and followed him into slumber not long after.

**Chapter Twenty Nine "His Team Returns"**

While John and Elizabeth are safely sleeping in one another's embrace, Sergeant Bates and Dr. Beckett are about to have their hands full.

Carson was busy finishing up his evening rounds, with what few patients currently occupied his infirmary, before turning them over to the night shift physician. Elizabeth had volunteered to watch John on his first night back in his quarters, but Carson decided it wouldn't hurt to stop in and check to see if John was adjusting okay before he headed for some well needed shuteye. He had just started down the corridor that led to John's room when he suddenly got an urgent call over his radio.

"Dr. Beckett, please respond! We have a medical emergency in the gate room!" Sergeant Bates addressed with authority.

"Sergeant, this is Beckett! What's the nature of the medical emergency?" Carson asked after activating the radio wrapped around his ear as he turned around and started heading back.

"It's Major Sheppard's team, Sir…! We found them…!" Sergeant Bates exclaimed over the radio transmission with some slight crackling interference.

"Put the gate room under a level four quarantine, Sergeant…! I'm on my way!" Carson responded as he quickly stopped back in the infirmary to gather medical supplies, hazmat suites, and a medical containment team before continuing on to the control room at a run.

When Carson arrived, the first thing that caught his eye were the three prone bodies on the floor in front of the gate wearing hazmat suites. He ran toward them with a medical team, but was halted when Sergeant Bates approached.

"Dr. Beckett, I've been trying to reach Dr. Weir but she appears to be out of radio contact." Sergeant Bates informed.

"That's all right, Sergeant. I'll inform her later, but right now we need to get them transported to the medical lab." Carson ordered as he slipped into doctor mode. He wanted to immediately inform Elizabeth of the good news, but there were more pressing matters at hand and he really needed her to remain where she was to watch over John.

Sergeant Bates nodded in understanding to Carson's demands and began ordering several men to help the medical staff get John's team lifted onto gurneys and transported to the lab. Carson then lead the way after informing Sergeant Bates to join him in the lab once he had the gate room under control and cleared from quarantine.

Once Carson and his medical staff had Sheppard's team stabilized in the quarantined medical lab, they swiftly stripped each patient from their hazmat suites and put them into scrubs. Carson then proceeded to assess each of them one-by-one from McKay-to-Teyla-to-Ford before ordering IV's to be inserted so they could administer the counteractive drug as soon as possible. He also instructed to have them placed in a medically induced coma until they're sure the inner contents of the slimy fruit has completely cured them. He was in the process of checking their vitals after the IV's were started, when Sergeant Bates appeared at his side.

"Dr. Beckett," Sergeant Bates addressed. "You asked to see me once the gate room was cleared from quarantine," he added to remind the good doctor why he was there.

"Aye, yes…" Carson paused with a sigh, "I need ya to debrief me on how they were found and their condition at the time." Carson requested, as he finished up writing on some medical charts to give Sergeant Bates his full attention.

"Of course," Sergeant Bates paused as he shifted uncomfortably in his hazmat suite, "It was myself and Stackhouse that came across them. We saw them from a distance in a field and we managed to get close without them detecting our presence. They appeared to be acting like savage animals toward one another as they fought over what looked like a mangled P-90. We took aim and hit each of them with a tranquilizer dart before their scuffle got out of hand. It didn't take long for the tranquilizers to take effect, and then we moved in on their position. I then radioed in to the rest of the search parties that we had found them. When they had arrived, we proceeded to put hazmat suites on them before placing each of them on a stretcher and heading for the gate. As for their physical appearance…" he paused, "…they looked the same bluish grey tint they did when you saw them in the gate room only…" he paused again as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other before stiffening, "…they weren't wearing any clothes when we found them!" he finished as he looked straight ahead instead of at Carson, who was standing to the right of him.

"Aye, I'd assumed as much when we had removed the hazmat suites to put them in scrubs. Is there anythin' else?" Carson asked, changing the subject after seeing the Sergeants obvious discomfort.

"No, Sir… Would you like me to try and contact Dr. Weir again?" Sergeant Bates asked to help change the subject. He also didn't want to get into trouble for not informing Dr. Weir that they had found Sheppard's team, especially when she had specifically told him to let her know if anything turned up.

"No… That's all right, Sergeant. I'll let her know first thing in the morning'," Carson informed him and had trouble holding back a smile after seeing the alarm on Sergeant Bates's face. "Don't worry, lad! I'll take the heat for it if need be," he added with a smile as the Sergeant slowly relaxed.

Sergeant Bates turned and started heading out but stopped and turned back around when Carson addressed him again. "Sergeant, there is one more thing I need to discuss with ye!" Carson addressed, as he stepped closer to Sergeant Bates.

"Sure, Doc… What is it?" Sergeant Bates asked with slight confusion on his face.

"The discussion we had earlier, regardin' what happened to Major Sheppard, needs to remain confidential from everyone. That includes not discussin' it with Teyla, McKay, Ford, or even Major Sheppard himself until Dr. Weir and I get a handle on the situation. I don't even want Major Sheppard to know his team has been found yet until I speak with Dr. Weir first. Do ya understand what I'm askin' ye, lad?" Carson asked in a low tone to emphasize the need for secrecy.

"I understand, Sir. The discussion we had earlier never left the infirmary and it never will. I'll inform the appropriate staff members and military personnel to keep a lid on the return of Sheppard's team until further notice. …And if you don't mind me asking, Doc… how are you going to handle the Major's team once they wake up knowing what they've done?" Bates nervously asked, as he looked over at the three people in question.

"To be honest… I don't know." Carson sadly stated, as he scratched at his chest through his hazmat suite. He really hated wearing those things, but he felt it was better to be safe than sorry. He knew the contaminant couldn't be past from person-to-person and that it wasn't airborne based on the evidence of Sheppard not getting infected, but he didn't want to prove himself wrong.

"I've actually had time to think things over since you informed me of what happened. To be totally frank… I was pissed at first for what they did to the Major, but I understand that they had no control over it… And now that we've found them I'm wondering who is in the worst position. The individual that was beaten, or the individuals that did the beating! If I were in either of their positions I could understand Sheppard not being able to forgive, but more importantly I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I were in the same position as one of his team members. I almost feel more sorry for them than Major Sheppard, and for the guilt they'll have to live with… Whether what they did was out of their control or not," Sergeant Bates sadly confessed as he gave Carson a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"Ye have no idea…" Carson sighed, knowing the Sergeant was unaware of the rapes or the full extent of what they had conflicted on John.

"Let me know if you need anything, Doc!" Sergeant Bates offered, as he patted Carson on the shoulder again before turning to leave.

"No idea…," Carson whispered to himself after Sergeant Bates left. He then sat on a stool in front of the three occupied beds until early morning, watching them gradually change back to their normal appearance as the counteractive drug he had synthesized did it's job. He had spent most of the time he sat there trying to think of how they could rectify the situation, but with frustration he was coming up empty handed. It wasn't until the sun began to shine through the infirmary that he snapped out of his thoughts. He proceeded to perform a more thorough exam on each of them now that they were almost completely back to their normal selves. He was glad to see that Ford's gunshot wound was a clean shot that went straight through, but even more astonishing was that it was completely healed with no signs of infection. All three of them showed signs of minor bruising, dehydration, and malnutrition but they weren't nearly as bad off as John had been. Knowing that their hormones were skyrocketing during their time of contamination, he began checking them for signs of intercourse. After checking all three of them he was pleased to find no recent signs of sexual activity, but even more thankful that there weren't any signs of rape. Based on that evidence, he assumed that it may be possible that their hormones were only elevated for a certain amount of time after the initial contamination before eventually leveling back down to normal. The hypothesis explains why they sexually attacked John but left each other alone after each of them had their sexual release. Having the thoughts race through his mind so quickly after not getting any sleep last night, he began documenting his findings in the medical charts before heading off to decontamination so he could get out of his hazmat suite. He then ordered several of his nurses to attach another IV line to each of them to get their fluids back up before he headed off to debrief Elizabeth on everything that's happened.

**Chapter Thirty "Telling Him"**

Elizabeth woke slowly, feeling completely content in the arms of the man sleeping next to her. Tilting her head back slightly, as she unburied her face from his steadily rising chest, she looked up to admire his handsome face. She remained still as she watched John sleep peacefully on his right side, and her on her left with his arms still protectively wrapped around her. He looked so young and vulnerable in his sleep that she was tempted to bring her hand up to caress his cheek, but she didn't want to wake him. He had slept so peacefully last night for the first time in the past couple of weeks he had spent in the infirmary that she didn't want to interrupt the much needed sleep he was finally getting. It had affected her each time to watch him wake up in a cold sweat every night from a nightmare with intense fear and distress showing through his features. She gleefully convinced herself it was her close physical presence that prevented his nightmares from resurfacing last night, and it made her feel needed by him. She never thought she'd be lying next to him like this and she simmered herself in the heat that was radiating between themselves in their embrace. She unconsciously tightened her arms around his middle and reburied her face in his chest as she began to fantasize about the possibilities. She hadn't even realized how much she was moving about until John began to stir.

"…lizabeth…" John mumbled as he began to wake.

"Shhh… It's okay, John. Go back to sleep…" she soothed, as she brought her right hand up to caress her fingers through his hair on the left side of his head above his ear.

"…kay…" he mumbled back sleepily, followed by a long sigh. She smiled at how cute he looked and decided that she could easily get used to waking up to the view before her. It wasn't long before he fell back asleep, and she laid there admiring him a little longer before gently nestling back into his chest to join him in slumber.

She was on the edge of sleep when she suddenly heard the doors to John's quarters swoosh open behind her. Holding her breath, she laid as still as she possibly could. Hoping the intruder wouldn't notice her huddled under the blankets, cuddled up against Atlantis's military leader.

"Elizabeth…" the intruder whispered and Elizabeth immediately let out the breath she was holding as the voice was unmistakably familiar. "Elizabeth…" Carson whispered again as he gently rested his left hand on her right shoulder. She turned ever so slightly to meet Carson's gaze so she wouldn't disturb John. "We need to talk…" Carson whispered as he slowly began sliding the blanket off of her and more onto John. She was suddenly very thankful things didn't go too far between her and John last night. She couldn't see herself ever being able to live it down if Carson would have found her naked when he pulled the covers away. Mentally noting how that would have been an embarrassing moment for the books, she slowly slid herself out of John's embrace. John slightly stirred from her absence, but then stilled as he remained in a peaceful slumber. Once she was sure he wasn't going to wake, she grabbed her radio from the bed stand and headed towards the door to accompany Carson.

Once they were safely in the hallway, just outside John's quarters, Carson spoke at a normal tone level without having to worry about waking John. "I'm sorry to wake ye, lass, but there's been a development…" Carson sighed feeling unsure of how to break the news to her.

"Carson, what is it…? Is it about John?" she asked nervously, fearing the worst.

"No… John's fine, lass! It's not John, It's…" Carson sighed as he continued to struggle with the appropriate way to tell her.

"Carson, what is it?" Elizabeth asked more forcefully as she felt her heart begin to pound in her chest.

"Elizabeth…" Carson addressed with another sigh, as he gently placed his hands on both sides of her shoulders to help brace her for the news he was about to give.

"What?" Elizabeth exclaimed frantically, as she unintentionally lost control of her normal demeanor.

"We found them, Elizabeth…" he paused, "We found John's team." he added, deciding there was no easier way to tell her other than to just come right out and say it.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed with true surprise evident in her tone. It wasn't what she had expected him to say. "That's great news, Carson, it's just…" she paused not exactly sure on what to say, "What are we going to do? What I mean to say is… John's just starting to come around and… How…?" she stopped mid-sentence, as this was one of those rare moments where Dr. Elizabeth Weir was lost for words.

"It's okay, lass. Take yer time…" Carson tried comforting as he could plainly see she was a bit rattled by the news.

She took in a deep breath and slowly released it to gather her thoughts before attempting to speak again. "Don't get me wrong, Carson, this is great news but…" she stopped again.

"How are we goin' to handle this?" he finished for her with a comforting tone.

"Yes, exactly!" she exclaimed, followed by a long pause. "How are they? Are they aware of what's happened and how long they've been missing?" She asked, suddenly aware that all her concern was focused toward John with no regard to his team.

"They were shot with tranquilizers when they were found, and then I had them put into a medically induced coma until I'm sure the contaminant is out of their system. I have them quarantined in the medical lab right now and they're all stable. They're a little banged up and dehydrated, but nothin' serious." he informed, and would have continued if not for a question she squeezed in.

"Were any of them… Um… Did either of them do to each other what they did to John?" she asked uncomfortably as she felt her cheeks flush with a tinge of embarrassment.

"They're a bit ruffed up, but nothin' compared to the extent John was in. …And from what I can tell, neither of them were raped or showed any signs of recent intercourse either. There's no way to be sure though. We could have probably found out by watchin' one of the video recordin' devices they had carried like John's, but they were found without their clothes. I won't find out for sure until I get the chance to ask them when they wake!" Carson informed as he slipped into professional mode.

"But why would they attack John and not each other?" she asked with confusion evident on her face.

"Aye, I have a theory on that! It's possible that their hormone levels were only elevated right after they were initially infected, and after each of them attacked John and had their sexual release their hormone levels went back down. Decreasin' their sexual drive." Carson tried to explain. Elizabeth felt too uncomfortable at the moment to verbally express her understanding, so she settled for a nod in response. Carson noticed how uncomfortable she was getting and decided to change the subject. "How did John do on his first night back in his own quarters?" he asked with a comforting smile.

"Very well, actually! It was his first night without any nightmares," she responded with a hopeful smile. It felt good being able to reciprocate the good news.

"That's good to hear," he paused with a smile, followed by a long sigh. "I think it would be best if we told John the news about his team together," he added, hoping Elizabeth would be with him to help keep John clam when he gets the news.

"Of course… When and where?" she asked nervously, being afraid of how John was going to react.

"I think now would be as good a time as any," he answered and noticed the surprised look that immediately spread across Elizabeth's face. "It would be best. I don't want him findin' out by overhearin' the gossip as he walks down the hallway. It would be better for him to hear it from us. The sooner the better. We wouldn't be able to hide it from him for long, and we would lose what trust he does have in us if we tried." he assured her as he gave her left shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"You're right…" she responded softly as she swallowed passed a lump that was forming in her throat. Carson smiled at her to assure her that everything was going to be all right. They both re-approached the doors to John's room and entered after Carson waved his hand in front of the control panel to open the doors.

They approached John's bed to find him still sleeping soundly. Elizabeth immediately sat down, taking residence on the right side of the bed while Carson remained standing just behind her.

"John…" she addressed as she brushed some stray hairs off his forehead. "John…" she tried again, and was rewarded with an intangible mumble. "I didn't quite catch that, John! Why don't you wake up for me and try repeating that once more?" she teased to try and bring him to full awareness. She almost couldn't get over how adorable it was to watch him wake. He began to stir, followed with a couple more grumbles, before he managed to say anything she could actually understand.

"…lizabeth…" he mumbled as he slowly opened his groggy eyes.

"Hey, there…" she paused as she smiled down at him, "How do you feel?" she added as she brushed the back of her right hand against the morning stubble on his cheek.

"Like I got a real good nights sleep," John answered as he stretched his legs out. He was about to ask how she slept, but stopped when he caught sight of Carson standing behind her. "Hey, Carson!" he addressed with surprise as he rolled so that he was flat on his back.

"Good Mornin', Major! I'm glad to hear ye slept well." Carson greeted with a cheerful tone to help keep the mood light.

"Yeah… I slept real good!" John exclaimed, as he carefully propped himself up on his elbows before slowly sitting up with Elizabeth's assistance. "So… Are you making a house call, Doc, or did you just miss me?" he joked with a smirk.

"A wee bit of both, Major… And it's nice to see yer humor returnin'!" Carson responded with a comforting smile as he walked around the bed to sit opposite of Elizabeth at John's side. He brought out his stethoscope and began listening to John's heart and lungs. "Take a couple of deep breaths for me, lad." he instructed, and was pleased with the normal breathing sounds and healthy lub-dub rhythm of his heart. He then proceeded to slightly lift the bottom of John's shirt to assess the stab wound on his right side just below his ribs. He felt John tense and tremble as soon as he made contact with his skin, but it soon faded as he continued to prod the area. He noticed John wince a couple times from the area still being sore, but he was glad to see it was continuing to heal with no further signs of infection and all that remained was a large scab. "Everythin' is healin' up nicely, and I won't put ye through examinin' any other areas unless it's absolutely necessary. So… Are ye experiencin' any pain down below that I need to know about?" he asked as he gestured toward John's groin. John visibly shivered and slowly nodded 'no' after looking away from Carson and Elizabeth with slightly flushed cheeks. "Would ye tell me if ye were in any pain?" he added, worried that John wasn't being truthful with him because he was embarrassed.

"Yeah, Doc, I'm fine… It doesn't hurt anymore." John assured him, but he could still see the doubt on Carson's face. "Look… My last bowl movement was yesterday evening and it didn't sting any more nor did it burn when I peed!" he whispered to Carson, feeling slightly embarrassed that Elizabeth could probably still hear him since she was sitting right next to him.

"All right, lad! I believe ya," Carson responded with a smile as he gave John a few friendly pats on the shoulder. He had to fight back a chuckle as he watched John let out a long sigh of relief. He didn't think John would appreciate him getting humor out of his hurt pride and obvious embarrassment, especially with Elizabeth in the room.

"John…, would you be more comfortable if I left the room for a couple of minutes?" Elizabeth asked, noticing John's cheeks were still slightly flushed with embarrassment.

"No, you can stay! Besides, we're done with that discussion anyways! Right, Doc?" John asked hopefully.

"Aye, lad. Ye can relax now," Carson paused with an assuring smile, "We do have somethin' we need to discuss with ye, though," he added nervously. Knowing what Carson was referring to, Elizabeth began to fidget as she cupped John's right hand in hers.

"Oh…?" John asked, noticing the uneasy feeling Carson and Elizabeth were having. "What's up?" he added, beginning to feel uneasy himself. He watched Carson and Elizabeth exchange glances as if they were trying to decide who was going to be the bearer of bad news. "I don't have to go back to the infirmary, …Do I?" he asked nervously. The way they were acting was starting to scare him.

"No… It's nothing like that, John," Elizabeth assured as she turned to Carson and gave him a pleading look for him to be the one to tell John the news. Carson could see that John was getting worried and acknowledged to Elizabeth with a nod that he would tell him.

"John…" Carson paused with a sigh, "First thing ye need to know is that we're still here for ya if ye need to talk…" he comforted, placing a reassuring hand on John's left knee.

"Would you just spit it out?" John snapped as he was becoming slightly irritable from the suspense.

"We found yer team and they're under quarantine in the med lab right now," Carson said softly as he looked John straight in the face. John didn't respond. He just stared straight back at Carson with a blank face, but it was almost as though he was looking through Carson rather than at him. "Lad, did ye understand what I just said?" Carson gently asked, not sure that John was comprehending what was said, but John remained staring back at him with no sign of a response. "John…" he addressed softly as he slid his left hand up to just above John's left knee and brought his right hand up to gently grasp John's left shoulder, but still no response.

"John…" Elizabeth soothed as she reached her right hand across to cup his left cheek. He slowly turned his gaze toward her and blinked a few times, but he still remained silent. "John…, are you all right?" she softly asked as she kept her right hand on his left cheek and then brought her left hand up to comb back the hair straying over his forehead.

"Um… Yeah," John finally stuttered out in barely a whisper. "I… I just… You just took me by surprise," he explained as his face remained neutral.

"Just take it easy, lad," Carson comforted as he gave John's shoulder a gentle squeeze. He was worried about how John was reacting to the news. He wasn't sure what to expect in the first place, but the way John was hiding and bundling up was somewhat disconcerting to him. John's face didn't show any signs of grief, surprise, or fear of any kind.

"John…, do you understand what Carson has told you?" Elizabeth asked as she brought her hands down to cup his right hand in her own.

"Are they all right…? Can I see them?" John asked with a neutral face and tone. Both Elizabeth and Carson looked at each other in sheer surprise. They had expected John to worry about his team's wellbeing, but for him to ask to see them after what he's been through shocked them both.

"They're doing fine, John. Are you sure you…" Elizabeth was in the middle of asking when John cut her off.

"Can I see them?" John asked again, still showing no sign of emotion except for a slight tremble in his voice. Elizabeth and Carson both glanced at each other again before Carson spoke.

"They're in a medically induced coma right now, lad. Are ye sure yer up to seein' them right now?" Carson asked with concern to make sure John was aware of what he was asking. He tried locking eyes with John, but he still seemed distant as if he were looking at something other than what was right in front of him.

"That's okay… I… I want to see them… I want to make sure they're okay…" John paused to really look at Carson, "Please…?" he added with a quiver in his voice, and Carson finally got a glimpse of sadness in his eyes even though his face remained neutral.

"All right, lad…" Carson said softly, sliding his right hand from John's shoulder to cup the back of his neck as he searched John's sad eyes for any signs of fear or other emotions. "Elizabeth's goin' to stay here with ya while I check on a few things. Then I'll be back in a few minutes to get ya, okay?" Carson calmly informed him, and John slowly nodded 'yes' without a word. He stood up next to the bed and gave John's left knee a comforting pat before he left out into the hallway just outside the room.

"John, are you sure you're okay?" Elizabeth asked with obvious worry in her voice. John slowly turned his gaze toward her voice and away from where Carson used to be.

"I'm… I'm not sure…" he paused as he locked eyes with her, "I feel… I feel kind of… numb." he added, and she could see the raw emotions in his eyes. It was tearing her up to see him like this, so she reached out and pulled him into a strong embrace. She felt his arms loosely wrap around her waist and he buried his face in her neck, but it felt slightly awkward with how still he was. She didn't even feel the trembles that were usually there and she suddenly found herself feeling guilty, wishing they could have found his team at a later time.

Meanwhile, Carson was out in the hallway taking care of a few things over his radio. "Sergeant Bates, this is Dr. Beckett!" Carson addressed.

"What can I do for you, Doc?" Sergeant Bates responded.

"I need ya to put us on a private line, Sergeant." Carson requested, and there was an audible click on his radio before Sergeant Bates responded.

"Go ahead, Doc, we're on a secure line!" Sergeant Bates assured.

"Just wanted to let ye know that both Dr. Weir and Major Sheppard are aware of the teams return, but I'd still like to keep it low key. I don't want anyone approachin' the Major about it until Dr. Weir and I have the situation under control." Carson informed with fatigue apparent in his tone.

"Understood, Doc. I'll inform the proper staff members and military personnel. Is there anything else?" Sergeant Bates asked, hoping there was more he could do to help.

"That'll be all, Sergeant. I'll let ye know of any changes. Beckett out!" Carson finished before radioing in to the medical lab.

"Nurse Kelly, this is Dr. Beckett!" Carson addressed over the radio.

"This is Nurse Kelly!" she responded cheerfully.

"I'm headin' down with Dr. Weir and Major Sheppard, is the med lab still under quarantine?" Carson asked as he leaned against the wall beside the doors to John's quarters.

"No, Sir! Dr. Kusonogii tested each patient three times to make sure they were free from the contaminant before clearing the lab from quarantine. They are, however, still under a medically induced coma. Dr. Kusonogii said that remained under your authorization." Nurse Kelly informed him.

"Understood…, I need them to remain under until further notice. I'll be arrivin' with Dr. Weir and Major Sheppard within the next fifteen to twenty minutes, and I'd like you to have everyone cleared from the lab except for yourself and Dr. Kusonogii to watch over the patients until we arrive. Then I'll need both of ya to leave until I let ye know it's okay to go back in. Inform Dr. Kusonogii for me," Carson instructed in a professional tone.

"Yes, Doctor, right away!" Nurse Kelly exclaimed.

"I'll see ya in a wee bit, Beckett out!" Carson finished as he slowly eased himself away from the wall he was leaning on before heading back into John's room.

He entered John's quarters just as Elizabeth and John were breaking away from their embrace. "Are ya two set to go?" Carson asked cheerfully to try and lighten the mood.

"I believe we are!" Elizabeth answered as she smiled at John, but he only nodded 'yes' in response with a neutral expression.

Carson walked over and assisted Elizabeth on getting John to his feet. He was unsteady at first, but he eventually got his bearings. Elizabeth noticed right away that John was walking much slower than yesterday, even with herself and Carson on each side to help support his weight. She was worried about how he was clamming up, and knew it wasn't healthy for him. She wished she could see what was going on in that head of his, and wouldn't blame him if he was afraid to face his team again after what he'd been through. They were a little over half way there when she began to feel John trembling again. It usually upset her when he did that, but right now she was glad to see him giving some kind of response to what was happening. She looked over at Carson to see if he'd noticed, and he gave her a sympathetic look to let her know that he did.

"Are ya doin' all right, lad?" Carson softly asked, as he continued to support him with an arm around his waist and a hand under his arm.

"Yeah… I guess my muscles are a little tired," John lied to hide the fear that was building up inside him. Part of him was telling him to continue to make sure his team was okay, while another part of him was screaming at him to turn around and hide. There was an aching pain that was increasing in his abdomen as he began to feel nauseated, but he kept it to himself. He felt his energy level declining as he struggled to control his emotions and the tremors that were coursing through him.

Carson and Elizabeth both exchanged looks, knowing the real reason he was trembling, but remained silent the rest of the way there until John abruptly stopped four feet in front of the doors to the medical lab. They both noticed that John was starting to look a little pale and that his breathing had increased. Elizabeth placed a comforting hand on John's stomach and was worried when she felt his heart rapidly beating and his stomach gurgling.

"John, we don't have to go any further if you don't want to. We can turn around," she comforted as she tightened her hold on him. When he didn't respond she went to speak again, but stopped when he began slowly walking forward.

John could feel his heart pounding in his chest as the doors swooshed open. He felt slightly detached from his surroundings and his nauseated feeling increased. His heart beat began to pound in his ears, drowning out all sound. He could see Carson signaling to a nurse and a doctor to leave, but he couldn't hear what he was telling them. He knew they were close now and lowered his gaze to focus on the floor of the med lab. He wasn't sure what made him look down, but he stopped walking once he saw the bottom wheels of a gurney on the edge of his vision in front of him. When he felt a comforting hand rest on his upper back between his shoulder blades, he swallowed past the bile that was trying to come up and slowly raised his head to see his three team members. He sighed in relief once he saw they looked like there old selves again as they laid unconscious on the medical beds, but after blinking, their appearance suddenly changed back to how they had looked back on the planet when they attacked him and he began to panic. He rubbed at his eyes several times to see if he could get them to turn back to normal, but they still looked like they were under the influence of the alien fruit. He felt his vision begin to gray and jerked from Carson and Elizabeth's grasp. He stumbled to get as far away from his team as he could, but he had only made it a few steps when his legs gave out and he fell to his hands and knees. He could hear Carson and Elizabeth talking to him but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He hadn't even realized how bad he was shaking until he suddenly felt comforting hands on his back and arms as he remained on his hands and knees. The harder he tried to stop the tremors coursing through him, the worse they got. He felt Elizabeth's gentle hand cup over his clammy forehead and closed his eyes as he lost control of holding back the contents of his stomach. The pain in his abdomen was becoming unbearable as he continued to empty his stomach until all that was left was bile. Once he was done dry heaving, he was suddenly aware of the voices around him.

"Elizabeth, I need ye to get a damp cloth, a cup of water, and a kidney basin!" Carson quickly instructed, and John immediately felt her hand leave his forehead and shoulder to gather the items. "John… Can ye hear me, lad?" Carson asked as he slid his hand from John's upper back to rest on the back of his neck.

"Yeah…" John quivered out. He felt drained, and found comfort in Carson's touch when he began soothing his thumb back and forth on the back of his neck. He was having trouble with his arms holding himself up as they continued to violently shake, but he didn't want to end up face first in his own vomit.

"Okay, son, we're goin' to slowly ease ye back onto yer knees." Carson informed him as soon as Elizabeth had returned.

Once they had him upright on his knees, Elizabeth helped John fill his mouth with water from a cup and Carson held the kidney basin for him to spit in once he had thoroughly rinsed his mouth.

"Better?" Elizabeth asked as she smiled and combed her fingers through his slightly damp hair.

"Yeah… Thanks." John quivered out as he felt exhaustion taking over, but sharp pains in his stomach kept him wakeful. Carson noticed John wince and the look of pain on his face.

"We're goin' to lay ye back now, John," Carson informed and Elizabeth helped him ease John back so that he was lying flat on the floor in a supine position. "Can ye tell me where yer hurtin', lad?" he asked as he noticed John was still experiencing some discomforting pain.

"My stomach…" John gritted out through the increasing pain as he placed both of his hands over his abdomen protectively. He was beginning to feel overheated and was extremely grateful when Elizabeth started wiping his face down with a cool damp cloth.

"Let's see what's goin' on in that stomach of yers," Carson stated as he put on his stethoscope. He did his best to work around John's hands and Elizabeth could tell by his facial expression that he wasn't happy with what he was hearing. "John… Can ye tell me if it's a sharp pain or an aching pain?" he asked after removing the stethoscope from his ears.

"Sh… Sharp… Ahhh… Doc, it hurts!" John pleaded as the pain continued to increase. Carson placed a comforting hand on top of both of John's, which were still holding his stomach protectively.

"Carson, what is it? Is he okay?" Elizabeth asked with worry, as she continued to wipe the perspiration from John's face and used her other hand to soothingly comb through the hair on the top of his head.

"I'm not sure… I have a hunch, but I can't be for certain until we get him to x-ray. Stay with him while I get a team together to take him to the infirmary to run some tests," Carson explained and then patted John on the shoulder before leaving.

"He'll be back with some help, John. Just hang in there…" Elizabeth soothed after seeing John's face scrunch up in agony. The pain was getting so bad for him that she doubted that he was even aware that she was speaking to him.

She was impressed on how swiftly Carson returned with several nurses and a gurney. She quickly gave John a kiss on his feverish forehead before backing away to let Carson and his team get John onto the gurney. They had him up on the stretcher and rushed through the hallways of Atlantis with such incredible speed that Elizabeth was having trouble keeping her mind caught up in all the chaos. She wanted to follow them into the infirmary, but as usual, a nurse asked her to remain outside and told her that Dr. Beckett would be out later to speak with her.

It had only been about forty five minutes since they had taken John into the infirmary, but it had felt like hours by the time Carson had come out to speak with her. "Carson, how is he?" Elizabeth asked frantically as she began to fidget where she stood.

"It's what I had predicted…," he paused with a sigh as he rubbed his fists in both of his tired eyes, "He has an ulcer on the inner linin' of his stomach, and I think it was brought on by everythin' that's happened. John has a tendency to keep things bottled up and it's doin' a number on the acidity in his stomach," he informed her with exhaustion apparent in his features.

"Is he going to be all right… Can I see him?" she pried as she felt a strong need to be with him. She always trusted Carson's words, but she felt that she needed to see for herself that he was all right.

"He's doin' fine now, lass. I've prescribed him a prescription for the ulcer and I've given him a mild dose of Valume to make him sleep for a couple hours. The nurses are gettin' him ready to be transported to his quarters at the moment. I think John would be more relaxed there, and I've assigned a nurse to sit with him until yer available. I was hopin' ye'd accompany me to the med lab to speak with John's team before ye go play vigil on him," Carson pleaded. He felt the need to have her there for his support and theirs when he wakes them from their medically induced coma.

"Yes, of course!" Elizabeth replied, and couldn't hold back a smile once she saw relief wash over Carson's face. She wanted to go to John right away, but she was also worried about his team's wellbeing. She was confident that John would be in good hands until she could join him, and headed off back to the medical lab with Carson.

**Chapter Thirty One "The Team"**

Elizabeth followed Carson through the doors of the med lab and stayed back until Carson had everything prepped and ready. Once everything was set they approached McKay's bed first. The first thing she noticed was how much thinner he was, but was glad that he looked like himself again.

"I've cut his meds, so he should be wakin' any moment now." Carson informed as he leaned forward. "Rodney… Rodney, can ye hear me? I need ye to wake up, lad," he addressed as he gave Rodney's right shoulder a gentle shake.

All Rodney could see was darkness and he could hear distant voices, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. All he could feel were aches and pains in his joints and muscles. He wanted to drift off back to sleep, but the voices that were now becoming clearer were being persistent. He just wanted to sleep, but he managed to force his eyes to open halfway. Once his vision came into focus he found the faces of Carson and Elizabeth hovering over him with worried expressions.

"There ye are… Are ye all the way with us, lad?" Carson asked, not sure that Rodney was truly awake. Rodney didn't respond as he kept staring at the faces hovered over him. He was a little confused considering the last thing he remembered was being off world.

"Rodney…" Elizabeth addressed as she placed her left hand on the middle of his chest. The contact snapped him out of his confused thoughts.

"What happened?" was the only response Rodney could come up with as he raised his left hand to rub at his left temple.

"Ye might have a wee bit of a headache, but it should go away after a few minutes." Carson paused, "Rodney… What's the last thing ye remember?" he added as he got out his penlight and began flashing it into each of Rodney's eyes.

"Well if you'd stop with the light show, I might be inclined to share!" Rodney snapped as he waved his hands in front of his eyes, where he was seeing spots.

"Rodney!" Elizabeth warned with a playful smirk. She was glad to see they had the old Rodney McKay back.

"The last thing I remember was this disgusting yellow fruit that I wouldn't eat even if someone paid me, and with my luck it would have citrus in it…" Rodney started his usual rambling.

"Rodney…" Carson interrupted, "There wasn't any citrus in it. I made sure to check before puttin' it in your system. The inside of the fruit was more like a melon than a lemon. Now… Is there anythin' else ye can remember? Anythin' at all?" Carson asked with slight annoyance in his tone. Rodney always seemed to bring it out of him.

"Actually, I had more to say before I was so rudely interrupted," Rodney paused as he gave Carson his usual irritated look, "I remember Ford whining about not feeling well, and then that's when I noticed I was feeling sick to my stomach too. The next thing I knew… I woke up here," he explained with a shrug of his shoulders before something dawned on him. "Hey, wait a minute… before…, what did you mean by you checked it before you put it into my system?" he asked with confusion plastered on his face, and an accusing finger pointed at Carson.

"That's a long story, lad. Now… Are ye sure that's all ye remember?" Carson asked with concern.

"Yes, why?" Rodney asked with annoyance.

"That's a long story too, and I'll get around to tellin' ya after I check on the rest of the team. Just rest and take it easy for now, Rodney. Everythin' is goin' to be okay," Carson assured him before leaving to Ford's bed. Elizabeth followed him after giving Rodney a few comforting pats on his left forearm.

Rodney watched them approach Ford's bed with confusion clouding his mind. He got a strong sense that something was very wrong, but he hadn't the clue what that something might be. When he looked around, he suddenly realized one of their team members were missing. "Hey… Where's Major Sheppard?" Rodney asked frantically, fearing that was the something that was out of place.

"He's fine, Rodney… He's resting in his quarters," Elizabeth responded from beside Ford's bed. Rodney was about to ask more but Carson cut him off.

"Just sit back and take it easy, Rodney. I'll fill ye in on everythin' once I'm finished checkin' the rest the team." Carson reassured him from beside Ford's bed.

Rodney accepted their responses in silence as he let himself relax. He felt more at ease after they had told him that Major Sheppard and everyone else were going to be okay. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax, knowing that Carson would explain everything to him shortly. While lying there, he listened in on the conversations that were carried on between Carson, Elizabeth, and Ford along with Carson, Elizabeth, and Teyla. He was glad to overhear that neither of them could remember anything more than what he could. It made him feel less insane after Carson had continually kept asking him if there was anything else he could remember, as if there was supposed to be something more.

When he didn't hear anymore voices, he opened his eyes just in time to see Carson entering his office with Elizabeth. He could see them through the glass walls, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He suddenly wished he had taken a lip reading course as an elective back when he was in college. Not getting anything from watching them through the glass, he turned his attention to the others in the room. "So… Anybody care to guess what's going on?" Rodney asked both Ford and Teyla.

"I don't know… but somewhere between that slimy fruit and now, I got shot in the leg. And get this… It's almost completely healed. So… either I heal unnaturally fast or we've been unconscious in the infirmary for a long time!" Ford exclaimed, sounding a little panicked.

"It is all right, Aiden. Carson assured me that we are all fine and that he will return shortly to explain what has happened," Teyla calmly explained in her usual serene manner.

"He said the same to me," Rodney pitched in.

"Me too, but I still feel like something isn't right," Ford pointed out just before Carson and Elizabeth reemerged from his office smiling.

"So, Carson… What's going on?" Rodney asked nervously as he was eager to hear what Carson and Elizabeth had to say. They both approached the end of Ford's bed, since he was in the middle of the three of them, before Carson started speaking.

"Well, I'm sure ye'd all be happy to hear that the three of ye are doin' very well and will probably be released from my clutches by late this evenin'. Ye'll all be off duty for a couple days on medical leave to rest up and, Rodney, that includes ye!" Carson stated, pointing an accusing finger that annoyed Rodney to the core. "I mean it, Rodney! No workin' in the lab until after I clear ya. Understand?" Carson firmly instructed.

"Fine!" Rodney said childishly while Teyla and Ford just nodded politely.

"Hey, Doc! You mentioned that you were going to fill us in on what's happened." Ford reminded as he began to fidget in the bed.

"Aye, I did… Dr. Weir and I have decided it would be best to fill ye in on everythin'," Carson paused to give Elizabeth a quick glance, "The slime on the outside of the yellow alien fruit ye came into contact with made each of ye very ill. Major Sheppard had never come into contact with it, and since he couldn't carry all three of ye… he hid ya behind some large bushes and headed back to the gate to get help. On his way back to the gate he ran into a group of savage natives that took him by surprise. They beat him up pretty bad, but he managed to make it back to Atlantis just before he passed out. He was stabbed just below his ribs on the right side, suffered some broken ribs, a gash on his forehead, a concussion, and a number of deep bruises. When he regained consciousness in the infirmary, he told us what happened and Dr. Weir immediately sent a team through the gate to retrieve ya. The team brought one of the alien fruits back along with ya, and all three of ye were placed under quarantine. After studying the fruit we discovered that the antidote was ironically the inner contents of the fruit. And again, Rodney…" he paused as he looked at the man in question, "Yes… I checked the fruit for signs of citrus before I put it into yer system." Carson didn't miss Rodney's death glare before he continued, "I had managed to synthesize the solution so that it could be given to ye intravenously. It didn't take long for it to take affect, and here ye all are… alive and well!" Carson finished explaining with a long sigh as he looked to Elizabeth and smiled.

"But, Doc…! How did I get my gunshot wound?" Ford asked and Carson was taken by surprise. He opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out, so Elizabeth stepped in to save him.

"The team that brought you back was under attack by the natives just before they could get you through the gate. One of our men, who has asked to remain anonymous, got into a scuffle with one of the natives and when the gun went off… the bullet hit your leg as a couple of the men carried you by on a stretcher to get you through the gate. The soldier in question feels horribly responsible for shooting you and hopes that you won't demand to know who he is." Elizabeth blurted out, hoping that everything came out the way her mind said it did. Ford seemed skeptical but accepted the explanation without pushing to know who shot him, while Rodney became even more suspicious. He still felt as though something wasn't right, and that there was something they weren't telling them. He didn't see how Carson could have so easily left out the rescue team being under attack just before they had returned them through the gate. His surprised expression after Ford had asked him about his gunshot wound was very strange.

"Is Major Sheppard well?" Teyla asked with concern after hearing the injuries that were inflicted on him.

"He's doin' better…, but he's not to be disturbed anytime soon. I have him on complete bed rest," Carson assured them. There was an awkward silence until Elizabeth decided to break it.

"I think it's time all three of you get some rest before Carson releases you this evening… I'm glad to see you're all doing well," Elizabeth directed toward all of them with a smile before heading to leave. Carson said his goodbyes as well as he left his patients in the hands of the few nurses that were present during all of Carson and Elizabeth's speech on what had happened. He then joined Elizabeth in the corridor outside the lab as they headed toward John's quarters.

"Do you think they bought it?" Elizabeth asked nervously as they walked down the corridor.

"I hope so…" Carson responded with a sigh as he walked along side her.

**Chapter Thirty Two "Don't Tell Them"**

Two hours had quickly passed since John had been returned to his quarters, and Elizabeth hoped that he hadn't wakened yet to find her nowhere in sight. When her and Carson reached his quarters and entered, she was glad to find he was still soundly sleeping in his own bed under the covers. The nurse sitting in a chair by John's bed smiled and nodded to their presence before getting up and leaving the room. Once Elizabeth heard the doors close with a swoosh after the nurse left, she made herself comfortable on the edge of John's bed. Carson took up residence in the chair the nurse had recently occupied before speaking.

"I suspect it will be at least another hour before the mild dose I gave him wears off." Carson informed her as he sat back in the chair and propped his feet up on John's bed. Since he didn't get any sleep last night he figured it wouldn't hurt for him to try and get an hour or two of shuteye.

"I don't mind waiting," Elizabeth responded softly as she gently combed her left hand through John's hair. She heard a soft snore come from Carson's direction, and when she turned her gaze toward him she couldn't hold back a chuckle when she saw he was sound asleep in the chair. "That was fast!" she exclaimed quietly to herself as she turned her attention back to John. She was still convinced that she could get used to watching this man sleep, and continued to play vigil on him as he slept.

She wasn't sure how long it had been since she had accidentally fallen asleep, but she woke to find herself lying next to John with her head on his right shoulder. She wasn't even sure what woke her until she heard John moan and slowly begin to stir. She sat up and quickly looked down at her watch to find it had been two hours and forty five minutes since herself and Carson had arrived.

"Carson…" Elizabeth addressed softly as she reached across the bed and shook his right leg, which was crossed over his left. She then took John's right hand and cupped it in between hers.

"Wha…?" Carson mumbled as he jerked awake, and his feet flopped down from the edge of John's bed to the floor with a thud.

"It's okay, Carson. It's been almost three hours and I think John is trying to wakeup," she informed slowly to allow Carson time to fully wake.

Carson began rubbing his eyes free from sleep when he heard a pained moan come from John's bed. He got up from the chair and sat on the edge of the bed beside John, opposite from Elizabeth. He placed his left hand on John's abdomen and his right on John's forehead. It felt a bit too warm to his liking. "He's got a bit of a fever. It was probably brought on by the ulcer… or the stress of everythin' that's happened. I'll give him some aspirin later if the fever persists," Carson informed as he looked to Elizabeth.

"Is he all right? He seems in pain…" Elizabeth stated with concern as John moaned again. She kept his right hand cupped in her left, but brought her right hand up to stroke back some hairs that were straying over his forehead.

"Aye, lass, it's his stomach ulcer. They tend to cause people pain in their sleep, and a lot of times lead to risks for sleep deprivation." Carson explained to her with sympathy before turning his attention to John. "John… John, can ye hear me? Come on, lad, wakeup." he conjured as he lightly shook John's left shoulder.

"Hmmm…" John groaned as he slowly blinked his eyes open halfway.

"Hey, there…" Elizabeth soothed as she continued to comb her fingers through his hair.

"Elizabeth?" John question as he still felt slightly groggy from just waking up.

"I'm here," Elizabeth cooed as she tightened her left hand over his right.

"Ahhh…" John gasped in pain as he placed his left hand over his stomach.

"Take it easy, lad. Here…, I have a prescription for ye and some water." Carson informed and John swallowed down the pill and water that was handed to him. "It will calm the acid in your stomach, which should relieve any discomfortin' pain. I put the prescribed bottle over here on yer night stand, and I want ye to take one whenever the pain flairs up. Just don't take more than one within a four hour period, okay?" Carson instructed as he watched John's face slowly become pain free as the prescription took affect.

"Thanks, Doc… That feels a whole lot better…" John sighed in relief as the sharp pain in his stomach gradually disappeared.

"There's no need to thank me, lad. I was happy to oblige!" Carson comforted with a pat on John's left hand that was still on his stomach. "We do need to break some more news to ya, though," he added with a sigh as he looked to Elizabeth and then back to John.

"That seems to be happening a lot lately," John pointed out as he sat up with Elizabeth and Carson's assistance.

"That it does, Major," Carson said with a comforting smile as he patted John on the back. He was saddened when he felt the slight trembles John was emitting.

"So… Who's going to break the news to me this time?" John asked with a smirk as he looked from Carson to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth looked to Carson and nodded before speaking. "I guess I could be the messenger this time," she volunteered with a smile as she placed her left hand on his thigh, with her other still holding his hand. She felt him trembling, but kept her hand in place. It upset her to see how his team's return has caused him to relapse. He was just starting to come around before their return, and she has confidence that he can reach that point again in time. "McKay, Ford, and Teyla are awake now, and they can't seem to remember anything after handling the alien fruit. All they remember is feeling ill before everything went dark, and then waking up in the infirmary with myself and Carson." she explained, while keeping her eyes on John's face as she began rubbing her hand on his thigh in a soothing manner. She could see the surprise spread across his face.

"Seriously?" John asked with his voice full of hope. He was so worried about how they would react when they woke up that he never considered the possibility that they may not remember any of it. Hell…, he wished he didn't remember any of it.

"John, are you okay?" Elizabeth asked after watching several different emotions play across John's face.

"Yeah…" John paused with a sigh, "Actually…, I'm great!" John exclaimed as he suddenly realized that this could work for him. If they don't know what happened, he could act like nothing happened and he was comfortable with that. "Wait a minute…" he added as he realized something, "What did you tell them… What did you tell them after they said they couldn't remember?" he asked with a tinge of panic in his voice, and his eyes went wide with fear.

"Myself and Elizabeth discussed it in my office before we approached them as a group. We took into account that they may regain their memories later on down the road, but we did what we thought was best…" Carson explained but was frantically interrupted.

"What did you tell them?" John asked in a panic as he looked from Elizabeth to Carson. Elizabeth could feel John's trembles increasing as she watched him start to fidget nervously.

"Take it easy, John… We decided to tell them that ye hid their bodies after they fell ill and headed back to the gate to get help. We told them ye ran into some trouble on the way back, and a group of natives gave ye a pretty fair beatin'. I only told them about yer knife injury, some broken ribs, a concussion, some deep bruises, but nothin' more." Carson paused as he watched John slowly calm down, "I didn't reveal anythin' else that happened to ya, lad," he paused again to give John's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "I continued on by telling them Elizabeth sent a team back to retrieve them after ye came to in the infirmary and supposedly told us what happened. I had forgotten to explain how Ford got his gunshot wound, but Elizabeth stepped in to save the day. She explained that he got shot by accident by one of our own men from the search and rescue team when he got in a scuffle with one of the same natives that had attacked ye." he finished explaining and was glad to see that John had calmed down, but wasn't pleased that John was still trembling.

"We can tell them the truth if that's what you wish, John?" Elizabeth asked softly, feeling that John deserved to have a say in it.

"God, No… Don't tell them! I'd rather we leave it the way it is!" John stuttered nervously, but was adamant in his decision. "Thanks for not telling them about… everything," he added as his cheeks became slightly flushed.

"I would never break that trust, John. Not only as yer doctor, but as yer friend. The same goes for Elizabeth," Carson assured as he looked to Elizabeth and she nodded to John.

"Thanks…" John repeated with a sigh of relief. He didn't know how he could ever face his team again if they knew he was sexually assaulted. Especially if they knew it was them that sexually assaulted him.

"Everything is going to be okay, John… We're going to get through this together." Elizabeth soothed as she brought her left hand up to comb her fingers through his hair above his right ear. He shivered to her touch, but it quickly subsided.

"Ye've been through a great deal today, so I'd like ye to get some rest and stay in bed the rest of the day. I'll pop back in every couple of hours to check in on ya, while Elizabeth will stay here to keep ya company, okay?" Carson instructed to his patient. John nodded in response and looked over to Elizabeth, who was smiling at him. He loved the way she smiled. It always made him feel safe and relaxed.

"We could finish that scrabble game we never finished!" Elizabeth offered cheerfully.

"That'd be great!" John responded shyly. Carson smiled and patted John on the knee before getting up to leave. He watched the two of them continue in conversation as he walked to the door, and wondered if they would ever realize he was gone. It pleased him to see how close they were becoming. He then headed out to return to the med lab and see if John's team was well enough to be released to their own quarters.

"Hey, Elizabeth… Where's Carson?" John asked as he looked around the room with confusion.

"I'm not sure… I didn't even notice him leave. That's strange…" Elizabeth responded as she too looked around the room in confusion.

"Elizabeth," John paused until she turned her gaze from searching the room back to his face, "I've been wanting to mention something to you, but never seem to be able to get it out…" he added as he began to fidget nervously by zipping and unzipping his uniform jacket.

She noticed how nervous he was and scooted closer to him as she gently stopped his fidgeting hands with hers. "You can tell me anything, John," she assured him as she looked him in the eyes with nothing but desire and admiration.

John could feel his heart racing as he looked back into her eyes with the same desire and respect. "It's… It's your smile… It's very intoxicating!" he said nervously as he brought a shaky hand up to cup her cheek and brush his thumb across her lips.

"Really…?" Elizabeth teased with a smile, and amusement spread across her face. She then brought her hand up to cup over his, which was still resting gently on her cheek.

"And… It's not just your smile," John swallowed with a pause as his mouth became dry, "When you look in my eyes and I'm looking back in yours, I feel… excited… and at the same time terrified. Terrified that you don't feel the same way I feel for you!" he softly confessed as he remained looking into her needful eyes. John's heart was pounding in his chest as he waited for her to respond. He could see that her eyes had become watery and he began to wonder if he had said the wrong thing. "I know we came really close to… Um… you know, last night… but I wasn't sure how you felt about us and…" he began to ramble as he became unsure about himself, but was cut off when Elizabeth pressed her lips to his. He immediately responded by deepening the kiss and bringing his other hand up to cup her other cheek. Elizabeth brought her other hand up to cup the back of his head in return. When they broke apart for air, Elizabeth eased them both back onto the bed as she laid down beside him.

"Incase the kiss wasn't a good enough answer for you… I feel the same way when I look at you," Elizabeth responded softly as she pecked another kiss on his lips before snuggling up against him. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her gently on the forehead as they laid there holding each other. They both fell into a peaceful slumber feeling they could overcome any obstacles.

**Chapter Thirty Three "Reunited"**

Carson had released them that very evening and had ordered them to go straight to their quarters to rest, but what they really wanted to do was check in on John.

"Major Sheppard's quarters is just down the hall from mine… I was thinking about stopping by there if either of you would like to join me?" Rodney slightly asked Ford and Teyla, who were walking along side him to go to their quarters as they were instructed.

"I would also like to check on the Major, but Dr. Beckett ordered us to go straight to our quarters." Ford responded. He was concerned about his commanding officer, but he didn't want to have to face Carson's wrath if he disobeyed his orders.

"I am inclined to agree with Aiden, Rodney. Though I would like to check on the Major's wellbeing, I do not think we should do so against Dr. Beckett's wishes." Teyla responded in her calm manner.

"All right… fine… Why don't we meet outside my quarters in the morning at 0900 hours and go visit the Major together?" Rodney persisted.

"Sounds like a plan to me. How about you, Teyla?" Ford responded a little more cheerfully.

"I do not think that would be wise. Dr. Beckett stressed that the Major was not to be disturbed and that he was on bed rest." Teyla calmly stated, no matter how much she would like to make sure John was okay.

"If I know the Major, he's probably bored out of his mind and would appreciate the company." Rodney persisted further. Ford looked to Teyla with a pleading look.

"Very well," Teyla sighed. "I'll see you both at 0900," she added before heading down the corridor that lead to her quarters. She still wasn't convinced that it was a good idea, but she was looking forward to seeing how John was doing.

"Well… see-ya then, McKay!" Ford exclaimed with a partial wave as they both parted ways to their own quarters. Rodney smiled with triumph as he made his merry way down the corridor by himself.

Carson stopped by John's quarters at 0830 hours in the morning to check his vitals. He walked in to find them both wide awake as they sat at a small table that was folded out at the end of the bed. He smiled at how cozy they looked sitting so closely together as they used the end of the bed as their chairs. He had to hold back a chuckle when he got close enough to see that they were playing a game of scrabble and struggling to keep their letters hidden from each other, seeing as they were sitting so closely.

"Ye two are up early!" Carson exclaimed as he approached them, and both of them jumped in surprise.

"Oh… Carson, you scared us! We didn't hear you come in!" Elizabeth exclaimed with her hand placed over her chest as she tried to even out her breathing.

"I noticed! Ye two must be really gettin' into the game!" Carson teased as he gave Elizabeth a playful wink. She playfully smirked back at him in response. "So… how are ye feelin' this mornin', John? Any pain or nausea?" he asked as he grabbed the chair next to the bed and slid it near John before sitting down in it. He found it very amusing that neither of them thought to use it to play their scrabble game so that they wouldn't have to struggle with hiding their letters from each other. He could tell by their expressions that they knew he was thinking that very thought, because their cheeks were slightly flushed with embarrassment. However, he was glad to see that they wanted to be close to each other. Especially for John, after what he's been through.

"I had some stomach pain early this morning, but it went away after I took one of those pills you gave me. Those pills are great by the way!" John exclaimed as he patted his stomach with his right hand, "Since we were already awake… we decided to finish our scrabble game," he finished shyly as he looked from Carson to Elizabeth, and then back to Carson.

"That's good to hear… I just stopped by to check on ya," Carson paused with a smile as he stood up next to John and leaned over to place a hand on his left shoulder, "I need ya to lie back for me while I check a few things," he instructed as he gave John's shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"All right…," John sighed to Carson, "But no cheating by peeking at my letters while I'm down!" he exclaimed as he playfully pointed an accusing finger at Elizabeth. She gave him an evil smile in response. "I mean it!" he added as Carson eased him back to where he was lying flat on his back.

"Just relax for me, lad," Carson comforted as he began prodding different areas on John's abdomen. He noticed John was trembling and winced a couple of times when he pushed in on a couple of places. "Pain?" he asked with concern.

"Just a little sore," John responded as he took some deep breaths. Carson then reached up to feel John's forehead and was pleased to find it free from fever. He then proceeded to check his pulse and respirations, finding them both within the normal range.

"Okay, lets sit ya back up," Carson said cheerfully as he assisted John back to a seated position. He noticed John wince in pain again and it concerned him. "I'll be back to check on ya this afternoon, but if the tenderness in your abdomen increases I want ye to let me know before hand. Understood?" he instructed as he patted John on his left shoulder.

"Sure thing, Doc!" John responded with cooperation.

"Make sure ya do, lad! Otherwise, Elizabeth here has been ordered to tattle on ya!" Carson teased as he gave Elizabeth a wink.

"Hey now… No need to gang up on me!" John stated as he held his hands up in surrender. "I'll be good," he added.

"That's good… I'll check in on ya later." Carson informed as he headed for the door. "By the way, Major! Elizabeth is trying to spell the word 'Wraith'!" he exclaimed and smiled just before the doors closed behind him, after seeing the treacherous look Elizabeth was giving him. He then looked down at his watch to notice it was 0855, and headed to get some well needed shuteye. The past couple of days he had only managed to fit in a couple hours sleep here and there.

"That's a horrible word! What on Earth possessed you to form that?" John asked playfully as he tilted his head at her.

"First of all… We're not on Earth, John! Secondly… I didn't purposely search for the letters to form it! And thirdly… It will give me just enough points to put me in the lead! I couldn't help it!" Elizabeth defended as she teasingly pouted her lip at him. She kept her gaze on him as she waited for his comeback, but she noticed a sudden change in him when she heard the doors swoosh open to the right of her. She could feel John's thigh that was up against hers begin to tremble as his facial expression went blank, while he starred at whom ever opened the door. She turned her gaze to where his was and felt her breath hitch when she saw why John's mood had suddenly changed.

"Major!" Rodney greeted as Ford and Teyla followed him into the room, "You do realize that bed rest involves actually laying in the bed and resting, not sitting on the edge of it!" he joked as he walked further into the room.

"What are you all doing here? Didn't Carson mention to you that Major Sheppard was not to be disturbed?" Elizabeth asked calmly as she gently grasped John's right hand to try and calm him. Ford and Teyla both bowed their gaze like two children who had been caught doing something they knew they shouldn't, but Rodney raised his chin and remained adamant about his decision.

"He might have mentioned it… But he looks fine… other than he's unusually quiet…" Rodney paused as he walked to where he stood in front of the table they were sitting at. Elizabeth could feel John's trembling was increasing and she could hear his respirations were becoming rapid with panic. "…And you look a bit pale! Are you all right, Major?" he asked as he reached out and touched John's left shoulder. John immediately jerked away in fear and stumbled back until he fell off the side of the bed. He then stumbled to the far end of the room and slammed himself into a corner as he pulled his knees up to his chest protectively.

"What's wrong?" Rodney asked frantically as he watched John shaking violently on the floor in the corner, with his arms tightly wrapped around his knees. He then noticed John begin to rock back and forth with his eyes squeezed shut.

"Dr. Beckett!" Elizabeth exclaimed over the radio wrapped around her left ear, but there was no response. "Dr. Beckett… Dr. Backett, I need you in Major Sheppard's quarters immediately!" she urgently requested again as she ran to crouch in front of John.

"I'm on my way…" Carson responded, sounding as though he had just got out of bed. He had just lied down no more than fifteen minutes ago.

"What's going on?" Rodney demanded as he began to approach John and Elizabeth.

"I need all of you to wait out in the hallway, now!" Elizabeth ordered them with authority as she directed her stern gaze at Rodney.

Rodney got the hint and followed Ford and Teyla out of the room. They ran into a very tired looking Carson as soon as they stepped out into the corridor, and he did not look happy to see them.

"What in the bloody hell are ye all doin' here?" Carson demanded as he was trying to catch his breath from having to have run to get there.

"We were… What's going on? What's wrong with him?" Rodney asked frantically. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew something was definitely wrong. Teyla and Ford stayed back and stood quietly as they watched the scene play out in front of them.

"Not now, Rodney! I'll explain later…, I just need all of ye to stay out here." Carson instructed as he pushed pass them and entered John's quarters.

He searched the room quickly and found both John and Elizabeth in the far left corner of the room. He rushed over to see Elizabeth was knelt down in front of a violently shaking Major Sheppard.

"Carson…, I can't get him to calm down!" Elizabeth exclaimed with worry in her voice. Carson wasted no time and reached down in the medical bag he had brought with him to pull out a syringe that contained a mild sedative. He knelt down beside John and quickly jabbed the needle into his trembling thigh. John hadn't even flinched, and his violent shakes gradually decreased down to light tremors once the sedative took effect.

"Elizabeth, I need ye to help me get him to the bed." Carson instructed as he slid his left arm under John's knees, and his right arms behind John's back and under his arms. With Elizabeth's help he was able to hoist John up into his arms like an infant. John may be taller, but Carson had broader shoulders. He then slowly walked over and gently laid John on the bed as Elizabeth began covering him with blankets. She immediately began combing her fingers through his hair in a soothing manner, and held his right hand tightly. They sat and talked to him with comforting words until he gave in and fell asleep from exhaustion and the mild sedative Carson had given him. Once they were sure he wasn't going to wakeup anytime soon, they headed out into the corridor to speak with John's team.

**Chapter Thirty Four "Not Buying It"**

Teyla and Ford stood quietly for a long time as they watched Rodney nervously pace back and forth in front of them. He couldn't seem to stand still as he tried to piece things together that would explain the Major's reaction to him. He couldn't understand why John was so frightened of him and would have continued to ponder on it, but Teyla's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"We should not have gone against Dr. Beckett's wishes. He clearly had reasons why Major Sheppard was not to be disturbed, and we intervened when we should not have." Teyla confessed with concern that they had done John more harm than good by visiting him.

"She's right, McKay! We shouldn't have come here until Beckett said it was okay." Ford also confessed as he was worried for his commanding officer's wellbeing. Rodney was about to respond, but was cut off.

"Yer absolutely right, Lieutenant!" Carson addressed, as himself and Elizabeth walked out of John's quarters. "None of ye should have come here until I had cleared the Major well enough for visitors." he confirmed as if he were scolding three misbehaved children. Both Teyla and Ford looked ashamed of their actions, but Rodney was his usual arrogant self.

"What happened in there? Why did the Major react to us the way he did?" Rodney demanded after he stopped pacing and pointed his finger at both Carson and Elizabeth.

"As we had said before…" Elizabeth spoke up with a stern tone as she glared at Rodney, "Major Sheppard had been through a traumatic experience at the hands of the natives. He had barely made it back through the gate alive from all the blood he had lost. He even coded a couple of times and Carson had to bring him back. He's been through a great deal, and as a result he's a bit jumpy around people." Elizabeth explained as her anger faded away. She knew they meant well when they had decided to visit John.

"A bit jumpy!" Rodney exclaimed with a pause. "I had barely touched his shoulder when he went aye-wall and scurried into a corner. It looked to me like he was absolutely terrified!" he pointed out, knowing that none of them had ever seen John that scared before. "…And how is it he isn't afraid of either of you?" he added as he looked from Elizabeth to Carson in confusion.

"He was afraid of us at first, but he eventually let us get close to him. He just needs time, Rodney. He'll come around…, just give him some time." Elizabeth comforted as she looked from Rodney-to-Ford-to-Teyla. Teyla and Ford nodded to her explanation in understanding, but Rodney just shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"I think it would be best if all three of ya return to yer quarters and rest, as I had instructed ye to do so earlier." Carson instructed with a comforting tone as he had pointed out that it's what they should have been doing in the first place. Teyla and Ford did as they were told and headed down the corridor to return to their corridors, but Rodney hung back. He stood there staring at Carson and Elizabeth with a questioning look, and waited to speak his opinion until he was sure Teyla and Ford were out of range to hear him.

"I'm not buying it!" Rodney exclaimed as he pointed an accusing finger at the both of them.

"What are ye on about, Rodney?" Carson sighed with annoyance as he tried to act as though nothing were wrong. However, Elizabeth couldn't stop herself from looking at Rodney in surprise and Rodney didn't miss it.

"Major Sheppard has faced the Wraith, a whole platoon of Genii, and god knows what else before he came to Atlantis. Are you trying to tell me that a small group of angry natives ruffed him up, and now he's gone aye-wall? I'm sorry, but… I'm! Not! Buying! It! I've gotten to know him well enough to know that it would take a great deal more than a beating to make him break down like that. There's something you're not telling us, and I'm going to march right into John's quarters and ask him about it if you don't tell me what's really going on here…! And I mean right now!" Rodney demanded as his worry for John escalated.

"All right, Rodney, calm down… There's no point in lyin' to ya any longer…" Carson sighed with his hands up in surrender, and Elizabeth looked at him in shock. He couldn't risk Rodney interrogating John for answers. "What I'm about to tell ya needs to remain confidential. Do ya understand?" he explained as he looked down the corridor to make sure it was clear, and Rodney nodded in response.

"Carson!" Elizabeth warned in shock. She couldn't believe what Carson was saying.

"It'll be all right, Elizabeth." Carson assured her as he gently clasped one of her hands in between his. She was about to protest, but Carson had already turned back to Rodney and began speaking. "John received more than just a beatin'…" he paused with a sigh as he placed his right hand on Rodney's shoulder to prepare him for the news, "The natives sexually assaulted Major Sheppard… He was raped by both female and male genders. I can't go into the details, but I think that statement says it all." he softly stated as he watched the expression of horror spread across Rodney's face.

"Oh my god!" Rodney exclaimed as he folded his arms across his chest and began to fidget uncomfortably. He felt like a deer caught in headlights! He hadn't expected that, and it made him feel outraged and upset all at the same time.

"Aye, it's a wee bit of a shock! It was very traumatizin' for John, and I'm trustin' ye to keep this to yerself. Under no circumstances is anyone to know!" Carson stressed as he gave Rodney's shoulder a firm squeeze to insure he was getting through to him.

"Of course… I'll just, um… I'll just be…" Rodney stuttered nervously and didn't finish what he was going to say as he walked away toward his quarters. Elizabeth stepped up beside Carson as they watched Rodney walk away dumbfounded.

"You really had me scared there, Carson. I thought you were going to tell him everything…, and I'm glad you didn't! But… did you really find it necessary to tell him about the rapes? Couldn't you have told him something else?" Elizabeth asked, sounding a little upset that Carson had broken John's trust.

"Aye, lass. I had to tell him, otherwise Rodney wouldn't have let it go. And because of what I've told him…, he will less likely confront John about it." Carson explained, hoping that he hadn't made a mistake.

"I understand…" Elizabeth sighed as she looked down at the floor in front of her. " I just hope we're making the right choices," she added with sorrow as she looked up at Carson.

"Aye… I hope so too, lass… I hope so too." Carson replied softly, followed by a short pause. "I'm goin' to sit with John for a while, so… I suggest ye take a break away from John to get some paper work done. I'll take good care of him while yer gone." Carson practically ordered, and she didn't get a chance to respond. He turned and entered John's quarters with the doors shutting behind him before she could protest. She smiled, knowing that Carson didn't give her a chance to respond on purpose. He knew that she'd rather stay with John if she was given a choice. Reluctantly, she headed for the control room to do her job.

**Chapter Thirty Five "The Video Tape"  
**  
Rodney was so frustrated that he passed up his quarters and headed straight for his lab, against Carson's orders. He needed to be somewhere he could think things through, and the science lab was just the place. He was upset about what the natives had done to John, and he was becoming more angry with them with each passing minute it took to reach the lab. John is one of the strongest men he knows, but after hearing what the natives had done to him he had a better understanding of why John reacted the way he did when he had reached out and touched his shoulder. However, there was something in the back of his mind that had been bothering him ever since Carson had mentioned the presence of natives on the planet. Even if the natives had arrived through the gate sometime after them, the ancient handheld device would have picked up the energy source from the gate being activated. The device is also a life signs detector and should have picked up any signs of life, yet it didn't alert them of the natives. He was beginning to wonder if there was something he had missed from being so intent on finding the source of the distress signal, that he was starting to feel partially responsible for what happened to John. Knowing he wouldn't miss something so relevant, he reverted back to the suspicion that something wasn't right. Things just weren't adding up! He let out a long sigh of anger as he approached the doors to the lab, and entered to find Dr. Zelenka fussing over something on his laptop.

"Dr. McKay, It's good to see you! How are you?" Zelenka greeted when he looked up after hearing the doors to the lab swoosh open. He could tell right away that Rodney seemed agitated about something as he watched him storm into the room and then take residence on a stool at a lab table on the far end of the room.

"Never better…" Rodney sighed as he propped his elbows on the table in front of him, and began to wring his hands together nervously. "Anything interesting happen while I was away?" he asked, hoping to get his mind on something else.

"Fraid not! At least nothing worth mentioning." Zelenka informed as he turned his attention back to the laptop. He wanted to ask him if everything was all right, but he knew Rodney would just shrug him off. Rodney was the kind of man who would willingly convey if anything ailed him, but he was not one for sharing his feelings.

"Humor me!" Rodney snapped, determined to get his thoughts on another topic. Zelenka looked at him suspiciously before speaking.

"If I must… We did find a hidden signal within the distress call that was coming from the planet that you had previously visited. It was actually some type of physiological wave stream that seems to only affect individuals that possess the ATA gene…" Zelenka was explaining, but was rudely interrupted.

"Get to the point, Radek!" Rodney huffed with annoyance. Zelenka glared at him before he continued.

"Fine…! We believe it's possible that the signal was never a distress beacon, but a warning sign! One that the Ancients put in place ten thousand years ago. We don't know why they would want to warn their own kind away from this particular planet, but the signal causes anyone who possesses the ATA gene to feel unusually fatigued and wary of their surroundings. The effects of the signal also seem to increase as the individual gets closer to the source of the signal. There were a couple of the search and rescue members who possess a small amount of the Ancient gene that complained of slight fatigue when they were on the planet, but they claimed to feel better once they came back through the gate." Zelenka paused as he watched Rodney assimilate the information. "We're still looking into why the Ancients created this warning signal, but it's becoming a lengthy process. Most of what we have come up with has come from the Ancient database, but most of the information they have on this planet is under a secured file. We were fortunate to get what information we have. We are hoping to get past the security code so we can find out why the Ancients were warning their kind away from the planet. Until then…, I suggest we don't send any of our off-world teams there until we know more." he finished before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Huh…" was all Rodney had to say as he considered what Zelenka had just told him. He did recalled feeling a bit more tired than usual when he was on the planet, but not significantly. Recalling that John had seemed unusually tired, he wonder if it had affected John more because his ATA gene was much stronger. Thinking about John made him revert back to pondering over what Carson had said the natives had done to him, and he looked up to find Zelenka back to working on his laptop.

Rodney sat in silence as he watched Dr. Zelenka continue to fuss over whatever it was that he was working on. He still felt like he was in a state of shock from the news Carson gave him regarding John, and started wandering his eyes around the room. He didn't get to look at much when his eyes fixed on a young female Lieutenant that just entered the lab. He actual thought she was quite attractive, considering she had long brown hair. Especially since he usually had a thing for women with short blonde hair.

"Dr. Zelenka, I was wondering if you could help me with something?" the Lieutenant asked as she stood next to Zelenka.

"Of course… What can I do for you, Lieutenant?" Zelenka responded with a charming smile. Rodney didn't miss the Lieutenant blush, and thought he was going to be ill if he had to witness the flirtation much longer.

"I'm due to embark on a mission in ten minutes, but I can't seem to get my vid cam to work." the Lieutenant explained as she pulled her video recording device from her vest pocket and handed it to Dr. Zelenka.

Rodney was up and out of the room before he could hear Zelanka's solution to the Lieutenant's dilemma. Seeing the video recorder had given him an idea, but he was going to need Ford's help to pull it off.

When he arrived at Ford's quarters and knocked several times, the doors opened to reveal a very sleepy Lieutenant. "Don't tell me you've been sleeping… It's the middle of the day!" Rodney exclaimed as he watched Ford rub the crust from his eyes.

"It's not like I had something better to do, McKay!" Ford pointed out, followed by a yawn.

"Don't do that! Don't you know how contagious that is!" Rodney protested and couldn't stop himself from yawning. "See…! Now come with me… I need your help with something," he insisted. Ford sluggishly slipped his standard issue boots on and headed out the door to join Rodney.

"You do realize, Beckett wasn't kidding when he told us to stay in our quarters to rest." Ford pointed out as he walked along side Rodney down the corridors.

"You can return to your quarters and go back to sleep if you want," Rodney shrugged as he tried to use reverse psychology on the young Lieutenant.

"No, I'm good! I'll stick with you!" Ford responded adamantly. He was getting way to bored hanging around his quarters to pass up an opportunity to get out and do something. "So… Where we headin'" he asked with some excitement in his tone.

"Dr. Weir's office." Rodney plainly stated.

"What for?" Ford asked with obvious confusion.

"I don't know about you…, but I still feel like there's something their not telling us. There are certain things they told us that just don't add up…, and I intend to get to the bottom of it." Rodney stated as they turned down another corridor.

"I felt like something was a little off too…, especially the explanation of my gunshot wound. But how is going to Dr. Weir's office going to help. I mean… if they are hiding something, their not going to change their minds about telling us just because you want them to." Ford responded, hoping Rodney wasn't going to snap at him like he usually does when he points out flaws in his plans.

"Yes… Yes…, but we're not going to speak with Dr. Weir." Rodney stated with annoyance.

"I don't understand," Ford paused with confusion. "Why visit her office if not to speak with her?" he added as he followed Rodney into a transporter.

"I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier, but… If we want to find out if there is anything they're not telling us… All we have to do is get a hold of one of the video recordings one of us was wearing on the mission!" Rodney explained before they left the transporter and started walking down a new corridor. "Ingenious isn't it?" he added with pride.

"Don't tell me that genius brain of yours thinks Dr. Weir is just going to hand it over to us?" Ford asked with sarcasm.

"Nooo…" Rodney drawled out with annoyance.

"Oh…" Ford replied after realizing what Rodney's intentions were. "How are you planning on getting in her office without Dr. Weir catching you?" he added with obvious puzzlement.

"That's where you come in, Lieutenant! I need you to keep her occupied while I go in." Rodney explained with a smirk.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Ford asked nervously as they reached the control room. They both saw Elizabeth standing next to one of the main consoles as she watched a team go through the gate. Rodney recognized one of the soldiers as the female Lieutenant Zelenka had been helping earlier.

"You're on, Ford!" Rodney responded with a pause, "I'll return back here once I've got the tape, so keep her talking till then," he added as he gave Ford a slap on the back to boost his confidence. They both parted ways toward their destinations.

**Weir's Office:**

Rodney entered Elizabeth's office as soon as he could see that Ford made sure that her back was facing toward her office. This was definitely one of those many times when he wished the walls to her office weren't made of glass for everyone to see in. He quickly went to her file cabinet and hoped that no one else in the control room, besides Ford, was paying attention to what he was doing. He skimmed through the mission files with speed until he came upon the one he was looking for. He had expected to find four compact disks, but there was only one. When he noticed the name 'Sheppard' was written on it, he just assumed that Ford's, Teyla's, and his own had not yet been transferred to video format. He stashed the disk in his pocket and quickly returned the file back where it belonged before he headed back out to wait for Ford.

**Back In The Control Room:**

"Dr. Weir!" Ford addressed as he nervously approached her. He purposely stood to the right of her, so that she would have to turn with her back facing her office.

"Lieutenant, I thought you were supposed to be resting in your quarters?" Elizabeth asked, surprised to see him up and about. Ford could see on the edge of his vision behind Elizabeth that Rodney was searching through her file cabinet. He was terrified that something would happen to make her turn in that direction, causing his heart to pound in his chest.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am! I don't mean to disobey Dr. Beckett's orders… It's just there was something bothering me that I was hoping I could talk with you about." Ford said softly, feeling very on edge.

"Of course… Would you like to talk in my office?" Elizabeth offered with sincerity as she began to turn around.

"No!" Ford responded a bit more abrupt than he had intended, but it stopped her from turning around. He noticed several staff members stop what they were doing to look where the loud tone of voice had come from, and he felt as though his heart had lodged in his throat. "Talking right here is fine with me…" he said more gently as he noticed the room was getting warmer. He couldn't believe how close she came to turning around toward her office, and he could still see Rodney on the edge of his vision continuing to go through the file cabinet.

"All right…" Elizabeth soothed as she placed a comforting hand on his right shoulder. "Just relax, Aiden. You're so wound up I'm afraid you'll shoot through the roof!" she teased to try and ease the tension. She could tell by the way he was acting that something was really bothering him.

"Sorry, Ma'am…" Ford sighed with a pause, and was starting to feel slightly agitated as he could still see Rodney searching through the cabinet. He didn't understand what was taking him so long.

"That's all right, Aiden. Just take your time," Elizabeth comforted as she smiled at him.

"I'm really worried about the Major, and I was wondering if he was truly going to be all right. The way he had reacted to McKay earlier was very out of character for him." Ford inquired, not being able to come up with anything better to say. It had been on his mind for a while now, and figured this was as good a time as any to get it off his chest.

"I know your concerned for him, Aiden. As are we all, and I promise you that with time Major Sheppard is going to be okay. He's just going to need our help and patients to get through this." Elizabeth softly assured him. She smiled when she saw him visibly relax. It made her feel good knowing that she was able to comfort him and put his mind at ease.

"Okay…" Ford sighed in relief. He was not only relieved to hear her assure that John would be okay, but that he looked over her shoulder to see Rodney putting a file folder back in the cabinet and quickly leaving her office. Elizabeth turned around to see what Ford was looking at, but Rodney was already gone.

"Are you all right?" Elizabeth asked, after turning her gaze away from her empty office and back to Ford with a confused smile.

"Yeah… I was… I was just thinking about what you said." Ford responded, feeling more relaxed now that Rodney was done burglarizing.

"All right then… I suggest you return to your quarters and get some rest before Carson catches you walking around!" Elizabeth teased as she reassuringly rubbed her left hand up and down his right arm a couple of times.

"Yes, Ma'am!" he replied with a smile. He left to rejoin Rodney in the hallway, while Elizabeth headed the opposite direction towards John's quarters.

"Did you get the disk?" Ford asked eagerly when he approached Rodney.

"Got it!" Rodney exclaimed with a smile of triumph as he waved the disk in his hand before returning it to his pocket. They both then headed down the hallway toward the science lab. "Teyla, this is McKay!" Rodney addressed after activating his radio that was wrapped around his left ear.

"This is Teyla… Is something wrong, Dr. McKay?" she responded softly over the radio.

"No, nothings wrong. I've got Ford with me, could you meet us in the science lab?" Rodney asked as himself and Ford continued to head toward the lab.

"Did Dr. Beckett not ask us to remain in our quarters to rest?" Teyla pointed out.

"Just trust me… I've got something you'll want to see, and hopefully it will give us some answers!" Rodney persuaded, hoping she'd change her mind and join them. There was a long pause before she responded.

"Very well… I'll meet you there," Teyla responded.

"See you in a few minutes!" Rodney declared as he looked to Ford and smiled. They both sighed in relief and continued walking down the corridors of Atlantis as they headed toward the science lab.

**Chapter Thirty Six "The Footage"**

Teyla walked down the corridor that led to the lab, hoping she wouldn't regret leaving her quarters. When she arrived at her destination, she entered to find both Rodney and Ford sitting at a lab table. She recognized what she was told was a laptop sitting in front of them, and walked toward the table to join them.

"Glad you could make it!" Ford greeted her from where he was sitting. She nodded and smiled at him in response.

"Yes… Yes…, Glad you made it!" Rodney pitched in as he was waiting for the laptop to power up. Meanwhile, Ford snatched another stool and placed it beside his and Rodney's so that she would have somewhere to sit. She gestured her gratitude by smiling and nodding toward him before sitting down.

"McKay's just getting things set up," Ford informed her as he sat back down between Rodney and Teyla. Rodney then slid the laptop in front of Ford, since he was in the middle, and then pulled the disk out of his pocket.

"What is this all about?" Teyla asked as she gestured her hands toward the laptop with confusion.

"Well… You know those recording devices we wear in our vest pockets on every mission?" Ford asked with a pause, and continued once Teyla nodded that she understood. "Okay… Once we return from a mission a group of technicians transfer what was recorded onto a compact disk, which can then be played back on a laptop." Ford gestured with his hands toward each item as he explained.

"And that disk is…?" Teyla inquired as she pointed to the disk in Rodney's hand.

"This…!" Rodney exclaimed with a pause as he waved the disk in his hand, "Is a recording of our last mission. However, the only one that was available was the one from John's point of view and I think that's because he returned through the gate before we did. They probably haven't gotten around to transferring ours to video just yet." he explained as he popped the disk into the laptop's hard drive.

"If this is from John's point of view… Will we witness when he was attacked?" Teyla asked nervously as she adjusted herself on the stool.

"Yes…" Rodney sighed sadly, "I actually need to warn both of you about something Carson and Elizabeth had confided to me before I start the video!" he added nervously with another pause. "I can't tell you exactly what Carson had told me, but… I will tell you that the natives did some god awful things to the Major when they beat him up. I can even fast forward through that part when we get to it, if need be." Rodney finished nervously as he wrung his hands together.

"We understand, Rodney," Teyla responded as calmly as she could. Ford swallowed past a lump in his throat and nodded for Rodney to continue. Neither of them were quite sure they understood what the natives had done to John that was so awful Rodney was incapable of telling them, but they knew they would find out soon.

"Okay…," Rodney sighed with a pause. "Here we go!" he added, as he reached over and selected play after the laptop had finished reading the disk.

The first thing that appeared on the screen was John's face when he had turned the recording device on. It then showed one of John's fingers covering up half of the screen as the device was shoved snuggly into his vest pocket. The screen went blank for a few seconds until the lens was properly aligned with the view hole that is stitched into the pocket. John was then leaving his quarters and heading down the corridor toward the gate room. He had turned a corner to reveal Teyla not far up ahead and the video bounced up and down as John jogged to catch up with her. At that point, McKay pushed fast forward and both Ford and Teyla thanked him with a smile. They didn't want to watch what they had already experienced and remembered. McKay allowed it to fast forward for a long time and didn't push play until the point that John had settled himself up against the bottom of a tree to rest. From John's position, the video was perfectly aligned to catch all three of his team mates within the picture. Once it showed all of them fall ill and lose consciousness after handling the yellow alien fruit, their eyes remained glued to the screen.

They each leaned further onto the lab table as they watched the events play out before them. They sat there for a long time as they watched the video footage, unable to tear their eyes away from the screen. The last thing they saw before the screen went blank was Elizabeth's pale and worried face streaked with tears before she pulled the disk from the recording device.

Now that the events that occurred had been revealed to them, they each responded in their own way. Teyla had tears streaming freely down her face, but she never once took her eyes off the screen until it went blank. She then lowered her head and began to sob as she brought her hands up to cup over her eyes. Ford portrayed a blank expression the entire time and continued to stare at the blank screen. He then slowly stood up and walked across the room to have some time to himself in complete silence. But his silent moment didn't last long as he dropped to his knees and began puking until all that was left was dry heaves. McKay, on the other hand, remained seated and brought a shaky hand up to eject the disk from the laptop. Doctor Rodney McKay, the man who never stops talking, was speechless.

They were all beyond upset and slightly angry that nothing they were told happened on that screen. They weren't emotionally prepared for the events that played out before them. They felt ashamed and hurt for what they had done, and neither of them were sure on how to handle it. They were definitely unsure of how they'd be able to face John again, or whether or not he'd ever be able to face them. They now understood why John had reacted to them the way he did.

They could never forgive themselves for what they did to John, no matter how much they tried to convince themselves that they weren't in control of their actions. Most importantly, they knew John would never forgive them, and they wouldn't blame him one bit!

Ford forced himself to stand on shaking legs with his back still turned to Teyla and Rodney. He swallowed back a mouthful of bile before he found the strength to speak. "I… I think we need to… to speak with Beckett and Weir immediately!" Ford managed to croak out as he was closely on the verge of breaking down into shameful tears. He didn't hear either of them respond as he continued to hear Teyla's sorrowful sobs, but he knew it's what they wanted to do.

**Chapter Thirty Seven "We Know"**

All John could see was a vast expansion of darkness, but he could hear a soft and gentle voice in the back of his mind. He tried to clear away the fuzziness, and soon the voice became more pronounced.

"John… John, can you hear me? John…!" Elizabeth spoke softly to him as she combed her fingers through the hair on top of his head.

"Hmmm…" John grumbled out as his vision slowly focused on Elizabeth's face that was hovered over him.

"Carson, he's awake!" Elizabeth exclaimed, and soon Carson's face was hovered over him as well.

"How ya feelin', lad?" Carson asked with concern as he felt John's forehead. He was pleased to find it free from fever.

"Kinda fuzzy…," John responded softly with a sigh as he was still feeling the effects from just waking up.

"Aye… That's understandable, lad. I had to give ye a mild sedative so yer probably feelin a little funny right now," Carson explained as he placed a comforting hand on John's stomach. He could feel John trembling and started caressing his thumb back and forth over John's abdomen in a soothing motion. "Just relax, John. It's okay…" he comforted and watched John take several deep breaths to try and calm himself.

"It's okay, John…" Elizabeth cooed, as she brushed some stray hairs back from his forehead with one hand and held his hand with her other.

"I really think I could have handled things a lot better if I would have been prepared. I… I wasn't expecting to see them and I…" John tried to explain, but Elizabeth gently placed two of her fingers over his slightly quivering lips.

"Shhh… I'm sure you would have, John." Elizabeth cooed and then removed her fingers so she could return to combing them through his ruffled hair.

"We know ye would have, lad. Just take it easy on yerself, all right?" Carson added as he continued to comfort him. John didn't feel like saying much more so he just nodded in response.

They sat there a while longer in silence, hoping that their presence was comforting to him. Carson could tell that John wasn't really feeling up to conversation, but he didn't want John to start shutting people out. He started to say something, but he didn't get a chance to get it out when a voice suddenly came through on his radio.

"Dr. Weir… Dr. Beckett… This is McKay!" Rodney's voice came over the radio that was wrapped around Carson's right ear. He reached his hand up to activate it as he looked over at Elizabeth, and noticed that she had heard it over her radio as well.

"This is Beckett…, Dr. Weir is with me!" Carson responded back over the radio.

"We need to speak with both of you immediately. We were told that you were in John's quarters, and we're waiting just outside the door," Rodney tried his best to calmly inform over the radio. Both Carson and Elizabeth could tell there was something different in the tone of his voice.

"Just give us a minute and we'll be right out!" Carson responded, and Elizabeth nodded to him in understanding before they both turned their attention back to John.

"John, we're goin' to step just outside yer quarters for a wee bit. Will ye be okay by yerself for a while?" Carson asked with concern as he gently patted John on the stomach. He worried about leaving John alone in the state he was in.

"Both of you?" John asked softly as he squeezed Elizabeth's hand.

"We won't be gone long." Elizabeth assured him as she, in return, squeezed his hand.

"Okay…," John sighed as he slowly released her hand. She immediately missed the skin-to-skin contact. "I'll be fine," he assured both of them. Elizabeth gave him one last stroke through his hair before getting up and heading to the door, while Carson gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder before joining her.

The first thing they noticed when they came out of John's quarters was how red and puffy Teyla's eyes appeared. She looked as though she had been crying a great deal, and Ford looked as though he were struggling to hold back the tears. McKay just appeared on edge, and like the rest of them, slightly pale.

"What's happened?" Elizabeth asked with concern as she took in the appearance of the three individuals that were barely able to stand before her.

"We know…" Teyla softly quivered out as fresh tears began to roll down her pale cheeks. Elizabeth gave Carson a worried look.

"Let me guess… Rodney opened his big mouth and told ye what really happened to John!" Carson exclaimed as he looked at Rodney with annoyance.

"Not exactly, Doc," Ford said nervously as he swallowed back another mouthful of bile. Carson and Elizabeth turned to each other with puzzling looks before turning back to look at the three with confusion.

"I don't understand." Elizabeth stated with obvious confusion.

McKay reached in his pant's pocket to pull out a disk and handed it to Elizabeth with a trembling hand. After turning it over to see the date and the name 'Sheppard' written on it, both Carson and Elizabeth recognized the disk right away and said, "Oh my God!" simultaneously.

"How did you get this?" Elizabeth asked frantically, as she raised the disk in question and waved it around in front of her.

Rodney ignored her question on purpose, "Why didn't you tell us the truth? Why did you keep beating around the bush?" Rodney demanded with his obvious anger showing through.

"We did what we thought was best for all of you!" Elizabeth explained, seeing they were obviously upset and angry.

"When we discovered that none of ye remembered what happened… We had to think fast and make a decision. We were trying to protect all of ye!" Carson pitched in to try and help ease the tension.

"To protect us from what… The truth?" Rodney asked angrily as Teyla and Ford remained silent.

"Yes, Rodney! To protect all of you…, including John!" Elizabeth exclaimed more adamantly, not caring that she had used Major Sheppard's first name in front of his team.

"Well… I demand that we be allowed to see our own recordings to find out what happened to us after Sheppard went back through the gate!" Rodney exclaimed nervously, not really sure that he wanted to see what other shameful things he had taken part in.

"That won't be possible." Elizabeth stated.

"And why not?" Rodney demanded with confusion.

"They weren't found on ye when ye were brought back through the gate. In fact, the search teams hadn't found any signs of yer uniforms." Carson informed him with the utmost sympathy.

"What…? That would mean…" Rodney began to state the obvious, but snapped his mouth shut with embarrassment. Both Teyla and Ford's eyes went wide with surprise as their cheeks became slightly flushed.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying." Carson responded softly as he looked to each of them. "From what I could tell during yer exams, none of ye had done anything to each other that showed the same signs of assault that were apparent on Major Sheppard. However, there is no way of knowin' for sure! Not unless the recordin' devices miraculously appear, or ye eventually regain yer memories." he finished informing as he watched their faces fill with shame. "None of ye were in control of yer actions. Try not to be so hard on yerselves… John knows you weren't in control of what ye did!" he softly stated to try and comfort them, but their facial expressions remained saddened. They stood there quietly, for what seemed like several minutes, before Carson spoke again. "Major Sheppard had agreed with our decision to not tell ye what happened, and wanted to keep things that way. He didn't want any of ye to know what ye had done to him. He's havin' enough trouble strugglin' with what he knows, and I don't know how he would react if he found out ye all saw the video…" he gently added to let them know what a dilemma this has caused.

"Can we see him?" Teyla asked softly as she wiped her face free from tears. Everyone's eyes immediately fixed on her with surprise.

"Teyla… I don't think…" Elizabeth had started to gently deny her request but didn't get to finish.

"Please…?" Teyla pleaded softly with tears building back up in her eyes. "It would be wrong of us to allow the Major to believe we don't know!" she persisted as she met Elizabeth's gaze.

"She's right! We can't just let him continue believing that we don't know what really happened. There's no way we'd be able to hide our reactions! It wouldn't be fair to him! If I were him… I'd want to know!" Ford spoke up, strongly feeling it was wrong to keep John in the dark.

"It might benefit us as much as the Major if he were aware that we knew. Who knows… Maybe we could help each other get past all this." Rodney declared nervously, trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince them. He truthfully wasn't sure they'd ever make it through this. He knew as well as the others that things would never be the same as they were before.

Elizabeth felt very protective over John, and wasn't convinced that what they were suggesting would be in the best interests for him. Carson could see the doubt in her eyes and decided to step up to the plate.

"I'd have to agree with them, Elizabeth." Carson condoned as he cupped both of her hands between his and looked her in the eyes.

"What?" Elizabeth said with surprise as she looked straight at Carson's face. She couldn't believe he was even considering what the others were suggesting. It made her wonder if she was the only one who was truly thinking of what's best for John.

"Think about it, lass. Do ye really want John to pretend that nothing happened…? He'd never truly get past this unless he faces it and accepts it. I think giving him the option of being able to discuss it with his team would be very helpful. Not only for John, but for his team as well! They would have each other, along with mine and yer support!" Carson explained to her softly with the utmost sympathy for how she felt towards John. There was a long pause as they all waited to hear her decision.

"I see what you're saying," Elizabeth stated softly in defeat as she looked down at her hands that were still cupped between Carson's. She had never considered the consequences of what might happen if John used the excuse of his team not knowing what truly happened as a reason to ignore that anything had happened. She realized it would only hurt John in the long run, and that she had allowed her feelings for him to cloud her judgment. She was so fixed on protecting him that she wasn't able to see that the truth could ultimately set him free from his burden.

"It's settled then…," Carson paused with a sigh as he patted his top hand on hers for comfort. "I suggest myself and Elizabeth warn John that ye'll be visitin'…, so that he'll be more prepared this time. We'll let ye know when it's safe to enter," he paused with another long sigh, "I think it might be best if one of ye break it to John that ye know what really happened, and I'll leave it up to ye three on who that will be." he explained calmly.

"I will tell him…," Teyla said gracefully as she put up her inner walls of strength. She knew John would need her to be strong for him, she just didn't know if she could stop her walls from crumbling when she finally faced him.

"That's okay with me…," Rodney responded softly and Ford nodded in agreement. They both knew they wouldn't be strong enough when the crucial moment presented itself, and were impressed that Teyla believed she could. But they wondered if she would really be capable of keeping it together when faced with the task.

"Very well…," Carson paused with a sigh as he gave Teyla a look of sympathy and understanding for the weight that was placed on her shoulders, "We'll let ye know when the Major is ready for ye to enter," he added just before himself and Elizabeth reentered John's quarters.

**Chapter Thirty Eight "Window Of Opportunity"**

They entered John's room to find him sitting up on the edge of the bed. He had slipped his shoes on and was now trying to tie his shoestrings with trembling hands.

"And just were do ya think yer goin'?" Carson asked John as he sat beside him on the bed, while Elizabeth knelt down and helped him tie his shoes.

"I was hoping you might let me get out for a little bit. Maybe…, get some fresh air out on one of the balconies?" John asked hopefully as he watched Elizabeth tie his shoes. He felt slightly ashamed that he couldn't tie his own shoes because his hands wouldn't stop shaking.

"Maybe later, lad… Right now there's somethin' we really need to talk about." Carson stated softly as he gave John's left shoulder a comforting squeeze. John noticed that Elizabeth had remained awfully quiet since she had returned, and that made him worried. Anything that has her speechless has him concerned.

"Ummm… Sure!" John responded nervously as he watched Elizabeth get up from in front of him and sit on his right, with Carson still seated on his left. She then placed his right hand firmly between hers, and John couldn't keep himself from interlocking his fingers with her bottom right hand. She smiled at him in response.

"It's yer team, John… They'd like to see ya, lad," Carson calmly informed him. He could immediately feel John's trembling increase through his hand that was still on John's left shoulder, but he noticed John's face showed no apparent response.

"Oh…," John paused with a sigh, "I guess that's okay. When do they want to visit?" he asked softly, and Carson noticed that John was becoming nervous.

"They're actually waitin' just outside yer quarters, lad," Carson responded softly as he continued to watch John closely. Looking for any signs that would tell him John wouldn't be able to handle a confrontation with his team, especially so close to their last encounter. Which they all knew that didn't go so well.

"Ummm… Okay… I just need a minute," John informed nervously. He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths to try and calm himself. He could feel the pounding of his heart begin to calm, and the comforting squeeze Elizabeth gave his right hand. He squeezed her hand in return, and opened his eyes before speaking, "O… Okay, I'm… I'm good!" he stuttered nervously.

"Are ye sure, John?" Carson asked, not sure that John was really ready. He could feel that John's trembling had decreased, but it was still present.

"Yeah…" John assured with more confidence, followed by a long exhausting sigh. "Although, I'd feel a lot better if I were standing when they visit. I wouldn't… It would feel less like they were towering over me… I'd just feel more comfortable if I were standing," he practically begged as he looked from Carson to Elizabeth with pleading eyes.

"That's fine, John… You don't have to explain…," Elizabeth soothed as Carson helped her get John to his feet. He swayed slightly, but managed to get his bearings. "Would you like me to stand with you?" she asked, wanting to give him as much support as she could.

"Thanks, but… I'll be okay." John responded softly as his soldier bravado shown through. He really wanted her to remain at his side, but he didn't want to have anyone to fall back on or hide in when his team entered. He wanted to appear strong in front of them, so they wouldn't become suspicious of the lies they were told. Elizabeth nodded to him in understanding before stepping aside. She knew his decision had nothing to do with pushing her away, and stood beside the chair next to his bed. Feeling a bit more at ease.

"I'm goin' to let ya go now, lad." Carson warned as he gently released his hold on John's left arm, and then waited to continue speaking until he was sure John wasn't going to fall over. "I'll let them know it's okay to come in," he informed and John nodded in response as he straightened his stance. He could feel his heart was racing as he watched Carson approach the doors and leave. He kept repeating to himself that he needed to remain calm. He didn't want to give anything away that would make them think there was anything more going on than what they were told. He took several deep breaths as his eyes remained glued to the door.

Carson was the first to come through the doors and immediately joined Elizabeth as they tried to stay in the background, but not too distant from John just incase the plan went downhill.

John could feel his body shaking in anticipation, but forced himself to remain standing strong. The first member of his team to enter was Rodney, and John could swear he looked just as nervous as he felt. Following closely behind him were a similarly nervous Ford and Teyla. Rodney and Ford filed around the room, while Teyla slowly approached him with a gentle smile.

"How are you, John?" Teyla softly asked after she stopped an arm's length in front of him. He could feel himself relax once he realized she wasn't going to come any closer, and it was only then that he realized her red rimmed and puffy eyes. He could tell that she had been crying, he just wasn't sure why.

"I'm okay… How are you guys holdin' up?" John asked as if nothing had happened. However, Teyla didn't miss the slight quiver in his voice nor the small tremors in his legs as he tried to remain standing.

"John…," Teyla sighed with a pause as she reached a comforting hand toward him, but retracted it as soon as she saw him flinch. "I believe you should know that… We are aware of what happened to you," she added calmly as she continued to keep her walls of strength in place.

"Yeah… We'll have to remember not to send the hostile natives a fruit basket!" John joked sarcastically as he began to fidget. He always had a habit of trying to hide himself in humor.

"No, John… We know what really happened…" Teyla softly soothed, as she stepped closer to him and placed her hands just above his elbows that were resting at his sides. He tried to flinch away, but she held strong.

"What are you talking about?" John asked as he chuckled nervously. She could feel through her hands, the tremors that were radiating through him. She felt responsible for the emotional pain he was experiencing, and in return she felt her walls begin to crumble.

"We… We know of the pain we had inflicted upon you," Teyla choked out as she felt the tears reforming in her eyes.

"I don't understand!" John exclaimed almost frantically as his soldier bravado was starting to fade. He tried to pull away from Teyla's contact again, but she still held on tight without causing him any harm. He looked to Carson and Elizabeth with worry before turning his gaze back to Teyla, just in time to see a single tear escape down her left cheek.

"They did not tell us…," Teyla paused with a sigh to assure John that Carson nor Elizabeth betrayed his trust, "We managed to gain possession of a disk without permission that showed us video footage of our last mission… From your point of view," she managed to force out calmly as more tears stained her cheeks.

John immediately froze and stopped trying to pull away from her. She couldn't even tell if he was breathing, but she could feel that his trembling had severely increased.

"Wha…?" John whispered out in shock as he let out the breath he was holding. Teyla decided to take advantage of the state of shock he was in to let him know how horrible she felt for what she had done to him.

"John… I want… I want you to know that I would never harm you of my own free will… nor under threat of death! What… What that video showed me… I will never forgive myself for what I had done, and I do not expect your forgiveness." Teyla quivered out as the tears began to fall freely down her pale cheeks. John's eyes had become watery, but he remained frozen were he stood as the tremors coursed through him.

Both Rodney and Ford saw the window of opportunity as well, and decided to let John know that what they had done was just as unforgivable.

"Major, I… I want you to know that, I too, would never purposely cause you harm… And… In light of recent events, I don't see how our friendship could possibly… No, that didn't come out right…," Rodney paused and struggled to hold back the tears when John raised his gaze from Teyla to him with tear filled eyes, "What I mean to say is… I'm truly sorry for what I did to you… And… I no longer deserve your respect or faith in my abilities," he croaked out as he almost lost the battle of preventing the tears from falling. Ford saw him struggling and decided to step up to the plate to get everyone's eyes off of Rodney before he broke into tears.

"It's like a bad dream, Sir…, and I don't think anything I say would be a worthy enough apology to earn your forgiveness. …And I will not ask for your forgiveness, because I will never be able to forgive myself for what I had done to you. I have the utmost respect for you, Sir, but I do not deserve that respect in return! I deserve more than a shot in the leg from you, Sir!" Ford stated as he stood at attention like a true soldier, to pay his utmost respect for his commanding officer. It wasn't until he stood at ease that he noticed John was looking right at him with pain filled eyes and a sense of mutual respect.

John swallowed past a lump in his throat before he managed to find the words to speak. "You… You weren't yourselves," John croaked out with a pause as he felt his eyes burning with unshed tears, "I can forgive… but… but I… I don't know if I can forget," he managed to quiver out before he broke down into a fit of painful sobs. Teyla immediately pulled him into a comforting embrace as his tremors became violent. John tried to pull away with all his might, but he was so weak that it didn't take much effort for Teyla to keep a strong hold on him. She felt his knees begin to buckle as his trembling legs could no longer hold him, and she gently shifted most of his weight onto her. He gave in and allowed exhaustion to take over as he buried his face in her neck while he continued to sob uncontrollably. He was too tired to fight any more. He felt so ashamed that he had fallen apart in front of his team, but blessed that he had such good friends that were willing to openly express their shame to him. With no regards to the traumatic experience they had gone through themselves. He didn't know what he had done to deserve such loyal friends.

The entire occupants of the room watched John with utmost sympathy. Rodney hesitated at first, but slowly walked over and wrapped his arms around both of them in a strong embrace. He felt a few tears escape down his own cheeks as he listened to John's painful sobs and felt how violently John was shaking. Ford watched for a few seconds, unsure of what to do, and then walked up to place a comforting hand on his commanding officer's shoulder. When he felt the tremors that were running through John, he couldn't hold back any longer and joined the rest of them in a strong embrace.

Elizabeth watched the emotional event play out before her as she remained silent in the background, and wiped her hands across he eyes to realize she had tears streaming down her cheeks. She was startled when Carson placed a comforting hand on her right shoulder, and she placed her right hand over it in response.

"I think they could use some time alone…," Carson whispered in her ear and he could tell in her eyes that she didn't want to leave. "How about ye join me for super?" he offered with a charming smile as he gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"I'd love to…," Elizabeth sighed in defeat, knowing that Carson was right. They did need some time alone. "I'll join you outside… I just need a minute," she softly conceded as she smiled at him to show her gratitude.

"All right, lass. I'll be just outside," Carson responded just before he turned and left the room. He knew it was eating her up inside to have to leave John for even a moment when he was in such an emotional state.

Before leaving to join Carson for super, Elizabeth took one more look at the four individuals wrapped in a tight embrace as if she were taking a mental picture. She wiped away a few more tears that escaped down her cheeks, knowing that they weren't sad tears, but hopeful ones. What she saw before her was not necessarily a broken friendship, but possibly a growing one. She knew deep down in her soul that if this group could bring the city of Atlantis back to life, then they could surely bring their friendship back to life.

**Chapter Thirty Nine "Seven Months Later"**

It's been seven months since John's team had returned and things were shaping up. Their friendship was not back to the way it used to be, but they were still friends. It even shows the signs of a friendship that could possibly be even closer and stronger than before, as they draw strength from each other for support to make it through the events in the past.

"Elizabeth!" John addressed as he jogged to catch up with her.

"John…, how are you?" she asked as she perked up from his presence.

"I'm good! So… where ya headin'?" he asked shyly.

"My quarters, why?" she asked out of curiosity.

"No reason…," he paused with a sigh, "Do you mind if I walk you to your quarters… for protection that is!" he added nervously.

"I don't need protection, John!" she teased with a slight giggle.

"I meant for my protection," he teased back and she stopped to turn at him with an amusing grin. "What…! It gets creepy in these corridors at night!" John exclaimed with mischief written on his face.

"Very well, you can walk with me to my quarters!" she giggled as she began walking again. "So…, how are you and the team getting along? Carson tells me the group sessions have really been helping." she asked with concern.

"I think everything is going well," he paused uncomfortably, "McKay is back to driving people crazy, Ford is flirting with several of Carson's nurses as we speak, and Teyla is continuing to kick my ass at sparing," he finished with a slight tinge of humor in his voice.

"And you?" she asked sincerely, and placed a comforting hand on his left forearm as they continued to walk.

He was never one to be comfortable with answering such personal questions, and was thankful they had arrived at Elizabeth's quarters just in time for him to use it as an excuse for changing the subject. "Well… it looks like we're here!" he exclaimed thankfully.

"So it would seem," she responded with one raised eyebrow. She knew he was avoiding the question, but didn't pry.

"You know…" he paused with a crooked grin, "…you've seen the inside of my quarters a number of times, and yet I haven't even seen yours from the door let alone been inside it." he added with a confidence that she hadn't seen from him in a while, and it surprised her.

She stared at him for a moment with amusement before answering, "Would you like to come in for a few minutes?" she asked with a shy smile.

"Well since you won't stop begging, I guess a few minutes wouldn't hurt!" he teased, which earned him a playful punch on his bicep from Elizabeth. "Ouch!" he exclaimed, while rubbing the sting on his upper arm as he followed her into her quarters.

The door closed behind them immediately after they had both entered the room. "See…, nothing special!" she exclaimed as she quickly scanned her quarters, hoping she didn't have any undergarments lying out in plan site for John to see. She then turned around to face John and was abruptly startled to find him right behind her.

"Oh, I don't know…" he paused as he looked straight into her eyes, and raised his right hand to gently caress her cheek. "I'm looking at something in here that I would consider very special." he whispered with a deep sexy voice, as he placed his other hand on her lower back and brought their lips to mere centimeters apart.

She could feel the heat coming from his body and the warm breath on her lips just before their lips touched. She pulled back slowly for a mere second to look into his eyes, "Are you sure?" she whispered with concern, not knowing whether or not he was ready for such intimate contact. He didn't respond with words as he leaned back in and gently kissed her. She felt herself melting in his arms as the kiss became more passionate. Bringing her arms up around his neck to draw him closer, she ran her fingers through the hair on the back of his head. It earned her a soft moan from John's lips, so she chanced sliding her tongue into his mouth as they kissed and he returned the favor with a deep desire. She felt warm tingles all over as John's hands began to venture under her favorite red shirt, and couldn't stop the moan that escaped her own lips. She was having trouble fighting the urge to rush things. Her desire for him was strong, but she didn't want to do anything that would frighten him off or make him stop. She felt him press further up against her and could feel the growing hardness of his groin up against her hip. She rocked her pelvis up against it, and was pleased to earn another groan from John's lips. They were both breathing heavy from their passionate kisses, and she couldn't hold off any longer. She began guiding John to her bed as their lips remained locked and their bodies entwined. She gently sat him down on the bed as she knelt down on the floor in front of him. She left his lips and began running gentle kisses down his jaw and neck just before grabbing the bottom of his shirt from the back and lifting it over his head. She then slid what remained off of his arms and began tracing gentle kisses down his chest. She hesitated over the scare that resided on his right side to plant a few tender kisses on it before moving further down to the waistband of his trousers. Sliding her hands up his thighs, she began to undue the zipper of his pants. She quickly looked up at his flushed face to make sure that he was all right, and then pulled his erect penis out from the fly of his black boxers. She felt her own groin begin to burn with desire and become increasingly wet and aroused when John began to moan as she caressed her thumb around the tip of his penis. Without thinking, she took him into her mouth and began to suck hard as she twirled her tongue around the tip. She could hear his breathing increase and what she assumed where moans as his breath began to hitch. She then realized that his penis was going limp and stopped to find that he wasn't moaning, but asking her to stop.

"Elizabeth… stop…" he begged as his breath continued to hitch.

"I'm sorry, I… I hadn't realized… Are you all right?" she cooed as she placed gentle kisses on several places of his face.

"Yeah…" he breathed out with a sigh, "Sorry…I'm just not ready for that yet…" he added softly with embarrassment as he avoided making eye contact with her.

"It's okay, John! We can do other things… or we don't have to go any further if you don't want to." she breathed out heavily, hoping that he would want to continue. She stopped kissing his face and rested her forehead up against his as she tried catching her breath and waited for John to respond. She didn't get much of a chance to catch her breath as John cupped her face in his hands and drew her in close for a passionate kiss. She returned the kiss eagerly and slid her hand down his chest to his groin. She began to gently stroke the shaft of his penis and it quickly began to harden once again. He began to moan with pleasure and slid his hands back under her top and lifted it up and over her head and arms, breaking their kiss for mere seconds. She began to groan with desire as well when she felt his hands caress up her sides and then cup her breasts. Breaking the kiss, she got up from her knees and gently laid John back on the bed as she straddled his hips. She immediately got the impression that he was not comfortable with that position by the way he quickly reacted to turning them so that she was beneath him. He placed a few gentle kisses on her lips and then began to trail down her neck to her breasts. He slid his hands beneath her and unclipped her bra with experience. After removing the bra and tossing it aside, he cupped both of her breasts in his hands and massaged her nipples with his thumbs. She arched her back abruptly with pleasure as she pressed her groin up against his erect penis that was hanging down from the fly of his boxers. Feeling her desire, he took the nipple of her right breast into his mouth and twirled his tongue over it as he sucked and gently applied pressure with his teeth. The teasing was driving her crazy and she couldn't stop the cry of pleasure that escaped her lips. "Ahhhh… Jo… ahhh… John, please…" she begged, but she really didn't want the teasing to end. Hearing his name said with such desire coming from her lips sent warm tingles of pleasure through him and caused his member to twitch. After teasing her left breast in the same manner he did with her right, be ventured down her belly with soft kisses until he reached the waistband of her grey dress pants. He kissed her groin through the fabric of her pants and applied just enough pressure to earn him another outcry of pleasure from her pleading lips. "Ahhh… John, please!" she begged as she raised her hips for more contact. He gently pushed her hips back down and began undoing her pants. He quickly pulled both her pants and panties all the way down to her ankles, and then all the way off once he slipped off both of her shoes. He hovered back over her and admired the view before embracing her in another passionate kiss. He then reached down between their firmly pressed bodies to slide two of his fingers between her folds and began rubbing her clit with a slow rhythm. "Ahhh…Ahhh…!" She started crying out with pleasure and tried pushing her hips up toward his painfully throbbing shaft, but he slightly rocked back as his talented fingers continued with an increased rhythm. He could feel right away that she was wet and ready for him, but he continued his torment. "Oh God…! John, please…," she begged as she tried pushing herself toward his penis again. He then gently eased himself forward to were his penis rested right outside her opening and brought his hand up to cup her face just before placing light tender kisses on her swollen lips. The heat they could feel radiating off of each other's body was hot and intense. She wanted him inside of her right then, but fought it off as she decided to do a little teasing of her own.

She reached between their bodies and began tugging at the waist band of his pants to pull them down, but she couldn't push them very far from the position she was in. He got the hint and quickly tugged his pants down and off right after kicking off his shoes. He laid back down overtop of her and returned to their passionate kissing, but she had other plans in mind. She gently slid her hand in between their bodies and wrapped her hand around his throbbing penis. She couldn't help but smile with triumph as he groaned into her mouth with pleasure. She gently caressed the shaft of his penis and applied just enough pressure to drive him wild as she began to torture the tip with circular rotations from her thumb. He broke his lips from hers as a soft whimper of pleasure escaped his lips, "Ahhh…!" She slightly raised her head and placed a few gentle kisses on his partially parted lips as she continued her teasing. He gently grabbed her hand that was caressing him and stopped her torment. "I'm not going to last much longer if you keep that up," he pleaded with heavy breaths. She just smiled in response and guided his penis to her opening. She wrapped her legs around his slender hips and waited in anticipation for him to push in, but before pushing in he looked passionately into her eyes. Once he was convinced that she was looking back into his, he slowly eased his penis inside her.

She couldn't stop the gasp of pleasure that escaped her lips as she felt her inner walls form around him. It was a tight fit, but the friction and pressure was perfect and intense enough to cause there thoughts to seem fuzzy in ecstasy. He couldn't hold still for much longer and began a slow rhythm as he kept gazing into her eyes. He could see the desire on her face that she had for him and it was so overwhelming that he couldn't stop himself from deepening his thrusts. Her thoughts were lost as she reached her first orgasm and would have cried out in pleasure, but John knew he wouldn't last much longer if her outcry had escaped her lips and stopped her with a passionate kiss. She moaned into his mouth as she road out her orgasm and tightened her legs around his waist as John began to pick up speed with his thrusts. He couldn't continue to go slow any longer after feeling her inner walls pulse up against his penis following her orgasm. It was to much for him to handle any longer as he pumped into her harder and faster. He could feel his balls tighten and knew he was close. The friction was so intense that she could feel another orgasm coming, and knowing that he was close too, she broke their kissing and allowed him to bury his face in the side of her neck just above her right shoulder as she wrapped her left arm around him more tightly and caressed her right hand through his hair just above the back of his neck. She could feel the hot air from his heavy breathing on her neck and shoulder as it sent tingles coursing through her, and that's all it took to send her into another orgasm. He heard her panting and crying out next to his right ear as he felt her walls begin to pulse against his penis once again. One more deep thrust was all it took and her outcries of pleasure became mixed with his as they both road out their orgasm together and she felt the warmth of his seed fill her.

He is the first to reopen his eyes as he looks down at her flushed face, and feels happier than he has felt in a long time as he watches her slowly open her eyes with exhaustion. He remains inside her and starts placing gentle kisses on her lips after locking eyes with her, and she returns them with unmistakable affection. They continue holding each other in a loving embrace as their thoughts slowly return, and she starts to tighten her hold on him but stops when she feels John trembling. "John, your shaking! Are you all right?" she asks with sincere worry and concern, as she reaches up and strokes some damp strands of hair away from his forehead.

"Don't worry… It's the good kind!" he assures her with his infamous Sheppard smile as he caresses her cheek with his thumb. She didn't miss the smile and tears of joy began to stream down the sides of her face into her hair as she remained underneath him. She never thought she'd see that smile again, not since that horrible day. "Elizabeth, are you okay? Did I hurt you? Is something wrong?" he asked with true fear and panic on his face as he wiped a few of her tears away with his thumb.

"John… You didn't hurt me… Nothing's wrong! Everything's perfect!" she exclaimed with that hypnotic smile of hers as she cupped his worried face in her hands. She could visibly see his fear fade away and they both tightened in each other's embrace as they brought their lips together for another round of passionate kisses. Both knowing that there would be many more in the future.

**THE END**

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Would you like a sequel... It's up to you boys and girls! 

I would LOVE to know what you thought of my story, so push on that lovely review button! I'm hoping to post more stories, but only if you gals and guys want me to! Please keep in mind this was the first story I had the courage to post, so please be kind when you review! I love positive feedback! Hope you enjoyed "Inhuman", and I might be doing a sequel to it! (Giggles!) LOL!


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